Secrets and Surprises
by DragonHeart456
Summary: My first fanfic, so please no flames! Lorena Darrow is a transfer student from America who came to Ouran. She is sucked into the madness that is a Host Club. How will she deal with these noisy people? Will they show her how to trust someone again? Why does she find it so hard to trust others and love them? *UNDER CONSTRUCTION*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! This is my first fanfic, so please leave a review, even if it's something like, "I read it. It's okay." Constructive criticism welcomed. Please no flames. **

**I have a Polyvore account that will have the outfits that my OC, Lorena, on it. The username is dragonheart4568. I will also have the end of the link that you copy and paste after the normal polyvore dot com so that you guys know that there is an outfit on there for that chapter. I hope that makes sense...oh well.**

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After arriving in Japan just a few short days ago, this was to be the first day that Lorena Darrow was going to attend Ouran Academy. Yes, that is the name of the infamous school for the rich and prestigious school for the "elite". The reason she was able to attend such a fancy school was all thanks to her father who lived back in America.

Her father is the President of a big car company. He claimed he wanted "the best for his beloved daughter".

Yeah, that and he was probably forced to send her to this school by his wife, her stepmother. She hated every particle of her being. So, to keep her out of her way, she sent her to Japan, not like she was complaining, though. She preferred living on her own, it was easier. Quieter.

Anyways, she had discovered the day before that Ouran had a uniform. When she went to pick it up, her glare nearly burned it into ashes right then and there.

The female uniform they had tried to give her was a horrid yellow dress with poofy sleeves and little black shoes.

She inquired if there was an alternative to this, and was told that she could wear the male uniform-albeit getting strange looks as well. She was also informed that it was "required" to wear the female uniform.

Bullshit.

After blatantly telling them that no way in hell was she going to wear that ugly _thing, _they finally consented to giving her the male's uniform.

When she saw the males uniform, it looked _much better_ than the dress.

The male's uniform consisted of dark blue dress pants, a matching blue blazer with the Ouran symbol on the left breast pocket, a black tie, and a white, button-up, collared shirt.

She accepted the five pairs of male's uniforms with a small smile and a thanks.

But now, she was on her way to go to class.

As expected, she got many incredulous stares, whispers behind my back, and a few brave souls even tried to approach her. It all cane with being the new kid at school.

She would just politely excuse herself from any conversation, saying that she didn't want to be late to class.

Lorena didn't consider herself anything special to look at. She thought she was pretty average in fact. Shoulder-length, straight blonde hair, blue eyes, average height, and average weight.

After wandering aimlessly for a good eight minutes, she finally made it to her classroom. Walking in, she saw that everyone was in the classroom and ready to go. The teacher decided to go ahead with the introduction.

"Class, this is our transfer student, Lorena Darrow. Lorena-chan transferred here from America. Are there any questions for Lorena?"

There were the usual questions asked, like "Where are you from?" "What are some of your hobbies?" One male student jokingly asked "Are you single?" Which she responded with a short "Yes."

In fact, for most of the questions she kept it to one word answers or made them as short as possible.

She found a special amusement by annoying two identical, red-headed twins by continuously avoiding eye contact with either of them, despite their continuing questions.

Then came the question she had been expecting the whole day, "Why are you wearing the boy's uniform and not the girl's uniform?"

She simply smiled at the girl who had asked, reassuring her that the question was completely alright and she didn't have to fear that she had been offended in some way. "I just prefer to wear this uniform." She refrained from saying how she also thought the dresses were extremely hideous and the person who designed them should be fired, then set on fire.

Thankfully, the questions ended after that and Lorena was told where she was going to be sitting.

Just her luck, she was going to sit next to one of the twins in the back, who had turned their attention from her at some point through the game of 20 questions and were now pestering another girl with short brown hair, big brown eyes, and whom was also wearing the male's uniform.

As soon as she sat down, the twin who sat closest to her turned and said, "Hi there! My name is Kaoru Hitachiin, and my brother here is Hikaru Hitachiin. Nice to meet you!" Hearing their introduction, Hikaru popped up next to Kaoru and they set their arms around each other.

She saw now that Hikaru parts his hair to his left and Kaoru parts his hair to his right. They were nearly perfectly identical, except for the underlying tones in their voices.

She couldn't bring herself to look them in their eyes, so she politely looked at their foreheads instead, smiling.

"So Lorena.." Hikaru started.

"Do you want to come to the Host Club after school with us?" Kaoru finished.

She tilted her head, confused. "What's a 'Host Club'?" The twins just looked at her incredulously. She had also attracted the attention of some people sitting nearby as they also turned to stare at her like she just stabbed a cat in the face. The girl whom the twins were pestering earlier laughed at them.

She leaned over her desk and looked around the twins to the girl, still confused. She just smiled and extended her hand. "I'm Haruhi Fujioka, pleased to make your acquaintance Lorena. I'm sorry, I just found it funny you stunned these two into silence."

"It's nice to meet you too."

"Wow! That's the most we've heard from you all day! I was beginning to think you couldn't speak Japanese very well!" Hikaru exclaimed, drawing her attention back to them.

Her patience and initial interest were beginning to wear away with talking to these loud people.

She nodded in acknowledgement and looked towards the front and pretended to pay attention to the lecture the teacher was giving. Seeming to take the hint, Hikaru went back to his seat and back to pestering Haruhi. While it was obvious to her that Haruhi was biologically a female, everyone referred to her as a male. In that case, Lorena would too.

Kaoru attempted a few more times to engage her in conversation, but she wasn't participating all that much.

Finally lunch rolled around and Lorena grabbed her lunch bag. "Hey Lorena, come eat lunch with us! We can introduce you to the other Host Club members!" Hikaru and Kaoru offered.

She shrugged, why not?

"Oh, that's right, you still don't know what a Host Club is, do you?" Haruhi asked politely with a small apologetic grin. Lorena shook her head.

On the way to the lunch hall, she explained that it was basically a bunch of rich guys with too much time on their hands who entertained young, also rich, ladies who also had too much time on their hands. She also said that she was in the Host Club as well.

It kind of sounded silly, but Haruhi had been nothing but kind so far, so it couldn't be that bad.

_I hope they won't try to make me do anything weird. But then again, if this club was anything like the rest of this school, I'll be fresh out of luck_. It wasn't until later had she discovered how right she was.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much to NIGHTANGEL21 for the follow and the favorite! It made me so happy! And thank you to those that viewed it, even if you didn't follow or fav... Please review, but no obligation! Enjoy!**

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When Lorena caught sight of Haruhi's and the twins' friends, she knew she had made a grave mistake. They were all sitting in the center of the cafeteria, flocks of girls had their eyes glued to the people sitting at that table. The boys sitting at said table did not seem affected by the obvious staring, they just laughed and talked and played.

Lorena started backing up, no one had noticed her yet, if she could just slip by she could save herself yet.

No such luck.

Two pairs of arms wrapped around her own and began dragging her to the table. By now, the boys had seen the four approaching. Lorena could now see their faces. One of them was a tall black-haired boy with glasses and a notebook beside him. Seated next to him was a blonde boy with lavender eyes and an obvious excitement at seeing them. Next to him was a much smaller blonde boy who strangely had pink flowers floating around him as he devoured-A WHOLE CAKE?! Next to him was another black-haired boy who was taller than the first and had a stoic expression. The four seats across from them were seemingly reserved for the twins and Haruhi.

And herself... God save her...

She was then dropped into the seat across from the blonde with lavender eyes and Haruhi sat across from the one with glasses. The twins went to get their lunches arm in arm.

"Why hello there my beautiful flower. What might your name be?" The lavender eyed one pulled a red rose seemingly out of nowhere, leaning across the table and practically shoving the rose in her face.

She put her right hand in the little space between their faces and pushed him back a good foot or two. I just simply said, "Lorena. You?"

After recovering from the shock of being pushed back, he smiled at me and said, "My my, Lorena.. Such a beautiful name to match an equally beautiful young woman. My name is Tamaki!" He then gestured to the one with glasses, "This is Kyoya! And these two are Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai" gesturing wildly to each in turn.

She simply nodded at each person she was introduced to. Kyoya's glasses flashed as he began writing in his notebook. Honey-rather loudly-said hello and went back to shoveling his cake into his face. Mori just nodded back in a silent greeting.

By now, Hikaru and Kaoru had returned with their lunches and sat down. She glanced at the one next to her, it was Hikaru. Hikaru saw her glance and took it as a sign to start a conversation.

"So Lorena.. You are from America?" Hikaru inquired. She just nodded, staring at her lunch box. She began unpacking her food. When she brought out what could be considered a typical American lunch, that just confirmed it.

Her lunch consisted of a simple PB&amp;J (peanut butter and jelly) sandwich, some apple slices, baby carrots, and a bottle of water. She didn't feel like making something elaborate or fancy, she still had some jet-lag after all and didn't want to put in the effort. All she wanted to do was hibernate.

It was only then that she noticed the curious stares and looked back up to meet their stares. The look on her face practically screamed, "Say something, I dare you."

Haruhi however just opened her lunch. Only then did she look at Lorena's, comparing the two. Lorena knew that she wasn't judging her lunch, she was just curious. She noticed her eyes lingered over the apple slices, before moving on. In return, Lorena also looked at her lunch, noticing she had rice balls with her food. She had heard that they were good.

She picked up the bag of apple slices and pointed to one of the rice balls in her lunch, "Trade you."

She looked at her, as if seeing if she was serious or making fun of her. She saw the seriousness in Lorena's eyes and replied with a smile, "Sure!"

So they traded. And it tasted just as she thought, delicious.

A gasp of surprise came from at least three of the other people at the table. They had apparently been watching and waiting for a refusal from Haruhi, as she had done with almost all of them.

Tamaki was crying crocodile tears. "Haruhi! How could you?! I offer my food for yours almost everyday and you refuse me harshly! Yet Lorena-chan asks once and you give it! Why are you so mean?!" Tamaki wailed.

"Because I know she will most likely not ask every day, and she had something I actually wanted." Haruhi replied matter-of-factly.

Lorena snickered at their antics. Haruhi sent a small, almost undetectable, smile in her direction, but she caught it. Lorena felt that they'll become good friends in no time.

Tamaki then went into a "corner of woe" as the twins called it. Hikaru made several attempts to start a conversation with her again, but she just stuck to short answers and moving her head. After a while he just huffed and gave up. Finally.

Kyoya looked up from his notebook, "So Lorena-chan, why did you move away from your family in America?" The question came out of the blue and she was not ready for it.

She was mid-bite of her PB&amp;J when he asked it. She stopped and looked him straight in the eye. "None of your business." He merely smirked and went back to scribbling in his notebook as the air became thick with tension. Apparently, no body expected such bluntness from her.

Lorena was about to question them when Honey-sempai cut in. "Rena-chan! Do you want a piece of my cake?" He said cheerily, successfully diffusing the tension.

"'Rena-chan?'" She tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"That's a brilliant nickname Honey-sempai! It's very cute! Absolutely cute! It is perfect for Rena-chan!" Tamaki interjected. Hikaru and Kaoru voiced their agreement, Mori nodded, Kyoya pushed up his glasses, and Haruhi also agreed it was indeed cute. _There's no getting rid of that one I guess._

In response to Honey's earlier question Lorena smiled a small smile and said, "Sure Honey, I would love a piece of cake." His face lit up as he pushed over a big piece of chocolate cake to her.

Hikaru whipped his head around to her and exclaimed, "Hey, that's the most we've heard from you at once all day!" She looked up at him, more specifically his forehead, and nodded her head. He showed a face that clearly said he was annoyed at her continuing to not look him or his brother in the eyes.

By now, she was finished with her lunch, so she got up and threw away her trash. When she came back, she could feel dozens of death glares from almost every female in the room. Apparently they thought she was spending too much time with the Host Club members. She just glared back.

When she got back to the table, she saw that everyone else was also finished. They each got up and put away their trash and trays. They said their "'See you later'"s and went on to their classes. Honey asked if she would come to the Host Club after school, and she told him that maybe she would.

She noticed that Tamaki and Kyoya left together and Mori and Honey went in another direction. That left her, Haruhi, and the twins. They went back to class as well.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Alright, here it is! Just like I promised! Enjoy!**

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Class for the day had finally ended.

Throughout the whole day, Lorena had been approached by many girls and a few boys, probably hoping to become friends with her or just to make her talk.

Honestly, Lorena really just wanted to go home and finish unpacking and settling into her new apartment. That, or sleeping for about three weeks. It could really go either way.

Unfortunately, the Hitachiin twins did not want to let her go yet. Literally. Both of them had grabbed one of her hands and was attempting to drag her to the Host Club. Their efforts seemed to be wasted though, as she was just standing in the same spot, just standing there. No matter how hard they pulled, she did not budge. After about five minutes of continuously trying to drag her, they stopped. Not letting go of her hands though. _Damn, so close._

"Rena-chan! Don't you want to come to the Host Club with us?" Hikaru whined. Kaoru nodded in agreement, trying to convince her to begin walking.

Haruhi came up beside her carrying both hers and Lorena's bags. "You know guys, she might actually have better things to do at home than waste time with us. And anyways, why are you trying so hard to get her to come? I don't think you guys have ever warmed up to someone new so fast before." She pried Kaoru's hand off of Lorena's and handed her back her bag with an apologetic smile.

Her words seemingly struck the twins. It seemed as if they didn't realize themselves how buddy-buddy they were being towards her.

They looked at each other, seeming to have a telepathic conversation.

Just then, Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai came up to them.

Honey jumped up onto Lorena, who luckily caught him in her arms in time and placed him on her hip, like a child.

Mori-sempai grabbed her bag from her hand so she could hold onto Honey better. She nodded to him in thanks.

"Rena-chan! We've come to escort you to the Host Club! And Kyoya said that if you didn't want to come, Takashi should carry you there!" Honey informed her happily. He said all this as if it were a normal occurrence.

She looked to Mori-sempai raising an eyebrow, silently asking if what he said was true. "Ah." was Mori-sempai's monotonous affirmation.

She just sighed and shook her head minutely before walking forwards.

Hikaru and Kaoru snapped out of it and led the way, Haruhi and Mori trailing behind.

As they walked through the large hallways, Lorena couldn't help but notice the stares, whispers, and glares sent her way. All of these came from assorted girls they passed.

She shifted Honey to her other hip as he continued telling her all about the assortment of cakes he had waiting for him in the Host Club. She just hummed in response every once in a while to let him know that she was listening. And she was. Mentally making a list of all the cakes she wanted to try and ones to stay away from. They had more flavors of cake than you would think.

Eventually, they all ended up in front of two huge doors with a sign at the top that read "Music Room #3". _And into the mouth of Hell we go._ When they entered, Tamaki and Kyoya were already waiting for them, they looked to be setting up.

It was a large room, with assorted couches, tables, and chairs scattered around in clumps.

Honey jumped down and exclaimed that he was going to get a cake for him and Rena to share. Haruhi went over to help set up. Mori-sempai handed Lorena her bag back, and again, she nodded in a silent thanks.

She slipped over to small table conveniently placed in a corner that no one seemed to use.

By now, Haruhi had informed Tamaki and Kyoya of her presence. _Not like I had a choice. Bastards._ Tamaki literally ran over to her, "Ah, my princess has graciously decided to join us on this fine day has she?" he again shoved a rose into her face. He flashed a-what she assumed was supposed to be-flirty smile._ Does he expect me to really blush and stutter like a lovesick puppy?_

Once again, she moved his face away from her own so that he was an arm's length away from her.

"Back up." He was shocked. He again went into his "corner of woe".

The twins-having seen the whole thing-laughed hysterically and approached her. They pulled her from her seat at the small table and leaned on Lorena's shoulders. Wiping tears of mirth from their eyes, she looked around, bored already.

"Rena-chan! You're so funny! Are you this blunt with everyone?" the twins asked simultaneously. She nodded her head.

Lorena spotted Honey coming from a room with assorted cakes on the trolley he was pushing. She also saw Mori already sitting on a couch where Honey was headed. That must be were they sat normally.

She shook the twins off and headed over to Honey and Mori. You could say she had somewhat of a sweet-tooth.

She sat down next to Honey as he pushed over a plate with a WHOLE CHOCOLATE CAKE. Hikaru and Kaoru popped up behind the couch.

"Ummm... Honey-sempai, you can't really expect Rena-chan to eat ALL of that cake, right? We all know you can do it, but not a normal person...not without getting sick anyways." Kaoru stated hesitantly, as if he were afraid he would offend Lorena or Honey. Lorena just shook her head and chuckled. _Fools._

She picked up the plate and fork and began eating... ALL OF IT. _MWAHAHAHA_! She didn't care if they thought she was weird, the looks on their faces was completely worth it.

Doing this even attracted the attention of Kyoya, Haruhi, Tamaki, and Mori because she had finished the cake in a few minutes.

She looked at Honey to see that he had a look of complete admiration and surprise. He obviously didn't expect her to do that.

The others just stared at her in a mixture of horror, shock, amusement, disgust, and confusion.

Not knowing what to do now, she thanked Honey for the cake and went back to her table in the corner. She could feel the stares of the Hosts on her back.

As soon as she was about to grab her book, her phone started ringing. The theme song for the show "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" sounded throughout the room. Her eyebrows drew together.

_Who could be calling me?_ She pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID. It read "Elena Darrow". _Big sister is calling me? _She answered and hesitantly brought the phone up to her ear.

Speaking in German, she said, "_Hello?"_

Still in German, there was a shrieking hysterical voice coming from the other end of the line. The voice was _so_ loud, she had to hold the device at arm's length to recover what was left of the chance of using her right ear ever again. The female's voice on the other end yelled, _"Lorena! Where did you go?! Japan!? Oh you are in soooo much trouble! I get back from classes and hear that you had got on a plane to Japan! What the hell?! You know you shouldn't be by yourself! Tell me where you are right now! Even your address! Where are you right now? Who are you with? What are you doing?" _Lorena cringed, this was not going to be good.

Lorena brought the phone back to her ear as it seemed Elena was done screaming at her. "_Sis, you always worry so much. I'm fine, honestly. If you really must know, I'm with some...friends at their club. What did they call it again? Host Club? I think that's it. We are still at school, and I think their club is about to open. Since I know you will ask, there are six boys and one girl. I'm at Ouran Academy, music room 3." _

_"Have you eaten anything today?"_

"_Yeah, I had a chocolate cake."_

"_Lorena, I forbid you from eating anymore sugar! One of these days you're gonna get diabetes!"_

"_Awwww... Big sis... Don't do that, you know how I can't function without sugar.." _She was relentless, she again forbade Lorena from eating any more sweets and hung up.

Lorena knew what was going to happen next, her sister would come flying in on a private jet and watch her like a hawk for at least two days.

Lorena tucked her phone back in her pocket and turned back to the Hosts. They had seemed to go back to what they were doing before, though still keeping one eye on her.

She heaved a sigh of despair and trudged back to the couch that Mori and Honey were at. She flopped un-lady-like onto the couch across the two and pouted, rather childishly at that.

All the Hosts stared at her, shocked. "What's wrong, Rena-chan?" Honey hugged her arm.

"My older sister is coming, and she forbade me from eating any more sugar until she gets here."

"Oh!" They all said together, understanding her plight instantly.

Then the doors to the Host Club opened and the guests spilled in.

Opening time.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello again everybody! I realized today that I had not put in a disclaimer yet, so here it is: I don't own any of this except my OC(s).**

**A special thanks to SamanthaManga for faving and following! It made me really happy!**

**A SUPER special thanks to Rosezelene Ersa for reviewing! It made my day! I am so excited that you chose to follow my story and that you like Lorena! And don't worry, I am not expecting anything big or elaborate in reviews, like I said in the first chapter's A/N, even if it's something like, "I read it, it's okay." is completely fine. I am so glad you like it and my writing style.**

**That being said, I appreciate and love every one of the people that have decided to follow/fav this story, and even the people that have read it and didn't follow/fav.**

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Watching what the Host Club did every day was a strange experience for Lorena. She saw Tamaki flirted shamelessly with every girl. And when she saw the twin's "act", she almost threw up. Almost.

_What the Hell is with these people?!_ Lorena desperately wanted to escape, but she knew Elena would be looking for her here.

So, she did what any sane and reasonable person would do.

She sat in the corner and ignored everyone.

She silently prayed that Elena would just get here soon.

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Hours passed, and the Host Club finally closed for the day.

Lorena couldn't remember the last time she had been so happy in her life.

They all began to clean up and get ready to leave. She was about to text Elena that she would be waiting for her at her apartment when her phone rang.

Again, the whole room was filled with the theme song of the show "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Everyone looked at her.

Just then, the doors flung open, revealing a short, brown-haired, blue-eyed, girl with a cell phone raised to her right ear, looking around frantically.

Immediately, Lorena knew who it was. Elena.

She spotted her in the corner as her ringtone was still going. Staring her down from across the room, she could tell that she was pissed.

She slowly started making her way over to Lorena.

Tamaki attempted to greet her, but he was blatantly ignored.

The sisters were locked in a staring contest.

By now, the Hosts had had time to properly observe her height. She was extremely short. As short as Honey-sempai, if not, a centimeter or two shorter. However, just like Honey-sempai, her height didn't look weird or awkward. It strangely fit her.

She had now come within arm's reach of her. The only movement from Lorena had been her standing up from her seat. She was forced to crane her neck up in order to look her in the eyes. If she didn't look so pissed right now, she would've laughed and/or made a joke about her height-or lack thereof.

Hikaru and Kaoru popped up mysteriously behind Lorena and one wrapped an arm around her shoulders, the other wrapped an arm around her waist. "Rena-chan, who is this? Your little sister? Does she always look angry?" They asked simultaneously. Elena's eyes widened in surprise at seeing them, but made no comment. Thank goodness.

Lorena finally broke the staring contest and looked to everyone else in the room, "Guys, this is my older sister, Elena. Elena, this is the Host Club." They were each introduced to her, she said the polite "Hello"s and "Nice to meet you"s.

She then turned back to Lorena, a serious look on her face. She spoke in English, "_We really need to talk. Privately." _Little did she know that most-if not all-of the Hosts could speak English due to private tutors and such.

"_Okay, let's go to my apartment." _She nodded in agreement, then grabbed Lorena's arm and dragged her out of the room. She barely had time to say a goodbye to her new friends over her shoulder before they were halfway down the hallway.

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They had been discussing the matter at hand for two hours now, and what began as calm remarks quickly turned into strained responses.

"I don't see why you are kicking up such a fuss, Elena. It's not like you were living with me before, you're still living in a whole other country. This is the best option for everyone. I wasn't wanted back home anyways." Lorena's indifferent mask finally made her snap.

"YOU KNOW YOU SHOULDN'T BE ON YOUR OWN! JUST LET ME HELP! WHY CAN'T YOU RELY ON ME FOR A CHANGE?!" Tears sprung up in her eyes. She furiously wiped them away, as if betrayed that they had made such a grand appearance.

Lorena's face contorted into an expression of pain, she didn't know that her actions had caused her dear sister pain. She grabbed her hand, "I'm sorry." Elena looked up at her, shocked. She didn't say anything, but squeezed her hand to tell her that she was forgiven.

"You really want to be here, huh?"

"Yeah."

Elena sniffled, "Okay. I won't cause any more problems. I think you might actually become happy here." She got up and left to go to bed, leaving Lorena there to mull over her words.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello again! I hope everyone is having a great day! I know I am! A special thank you to scarletpelt and golden-priestess for following and faving! You guys made my day! Again, Ouran is not mine, only my OC(s) are. Enjoy! :)**

It was yesterday that I had met the Host Club. Yesterday that I had gotten the surprise phone call from my older sister. Yesterday when she broke down in front of me and told me how she wanted me to rely on her sometimes.

She had spent the night with me at my apartment. I still needed to unpack everything, but I had had the basic furniture delivered from a store the day I had arrived in Japan. She didn't complain.

I was now back at school, heading to class. I knew that the Host Club would be wanting answers. I would tell them only what they needed to know. Which wasn't much. Barely anything in fact. But, I wasn't about to go spewing my whole life story to them. Oh no, I only met them yesterday after all. Don't get me wrong, I had immediately gotten the impression that these people could be trusted, but I had never told anyone all of my tricks and secrets before. I wasn't about to start now.

I had finally gotten to class and sat down at my desk. The twins weren't here yet, nor was Haruhi. Fine with me, a few minutes of silence would be nice. I just turned up my music. I was currently listening to a mix of Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Led Zepplin, and Metallica. I had no idea what was in store for me today.

I laid my head down on my crossed arms on the desk. The jet-lag was wearing off, but I still felt like hibernating with the bears. It didn't help that I had been working at home as well.

Just then, the twins and Haruhi strolled in. Well, the twins were dragging Haruhi around while pestering her. Same thing.

When they spotted me, they glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes. They both grinned mischeviously, a plan forming in their heads. They casually walked over to me, abandoning Haruhi for now. With one on each side, they slung an arm around my shoulders. They wanted answers.

Simultaneously, they said, "Rena-chan, tell us what you and your big sister were talking about? You should really let your feelings out every once in a while. Talking might help!" I just chuckled to myself, they were gonna have to try harder to get me to talk.

I replied with, "Nope! I only wanna explain it once, since I know you all want to know. I guess you'll just have to wait until after school." Their faces fell for a split second, but went back to grinning instantly.

At the same time, they stood in front of my desk, pulling my earphones out. "Very well Rena-chan! We'll wait for your explaination if... You win the 'Which One Is Hikaru' game! If you lose, you have to tell us everything!" They grinned. They pulled out green hats and placed in on their heads, hiding their hair-partings. Their grins obviously said that they expected to win. Amatuers.

Haruhi was by now standing next to me. She looked at them, then me. "Guys! That's not fair! She only met you yesterday! How would she know which is which?" Haruhi said, standing up for me. Their grins only grew wider. I just smiled a small smile and opened the video recorder on my phone. I hit the RECORD button. This was going to be priceless.

"Give it your best shot boys."

Their smiles got even wider, if that was even possible. They spun around in a dizzying manner that no one would be able to keep up with. They stopped and looked at me with triumphant smirks. It was only then that I had noticed everyone in the class-that was there-were staring at me. They apparently wanted to see my impending failure. I smirked right back at them.

Beginning with the one on my right I said, "You're Hikaru, and you're Kaoru." I pointed to each in turn. I knew I was right. No doubt in my mind about it.

Almost imperceptively, they glanced at each other out of the corners of their eyes. Normal people wouldn't have seen it. But I did. Grins still plastered on their faces, they simultaneously exclaimed in a sing-song, almost mocking voice, "Uh oh! You got it wrong!"

My smirk only grew into a smile, though it didn't quite reach my eyes. For the first time, since I had met them, I looked into their eyes. I replied coolly, "I know I'm right. There is no tricking me, you'll just have to wait for my explanation to everyone at once, and only what I choose to reveal to you guys."

Their faces were better than I could have ever imagined. Their grins were instantly wiped off, they knew I had won. They knew by the very fact that I had actually looked them straight in the eyes.

I struggled to hold in the real smile that threatened to crack my face open. The only sign of this was the corners of my lips lifting only ever-so slightly. It had been so long since I had been so amused by someone.

I stopped recording and put my phone away. I could tell the twins were having a "telepathic conversation" by the way they looked at each other. No doubt, I had only piqued their interests.

The bell rang.

The twins went back to their seats, Haruhi stood a little longer, staring at me in disbelief. The other spectators, equally dumbfounded, went to their own seats.

Class began.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello again! Special thanks to PhoenixOtaku for the follow!**

**Prussia? You wanna take this one? **

**Prussia: KESESESESESESE! So, you have come to my awesomeness for help? About time!**

**Me: What? No, do the disclaimer. You're so weird.**

**Prussia: Ze awesome me is awesome! Not weird! I shall do the disclaimer and it will be AWESOME!**

**Me: Just get on with it... *facepalm***

**Prussia: Ze slightly-less-awesome-than-me author DH does not own Ouran or ze awesome me! Zey only own their OCs!**

**Me: ... Wow... That was almost a compliment... **

** So, I have a question, would you guys prefer these shorter chapter about two or three times a week or longer chapters once a week? You can leave the answer in a review or PM me. If I don't get any responses or a tie, I will post longer chapters about once a week. :) Enjoy!**

Hikaru and Kaoru ignored Lorena for the rest of the class. They seemed to stick with their deal and didn't pry anymore...yet. Haruhi occasionally uttered a few sentences to Lorena, whether it was a question, a comment, or a compliment on beating the twins.

Lunch rolled around. Haruhi told the other hosts about the twins' defeat at the hands of Lorena-chan. Tamaki chuckled and said they deserved it for pestering his precious "daughters". Kyoya was extremely interested, asking a few questions and scribbling furiously in his infamous notebook. Honey offered the twins a piece of his cake to make them feel better. They declined. Mori only chuckled.

Lorena, through the whole story, was ignoring everyone and eating her lunch. Haruhi and Lorena traded food again, much to the dismay of Tamaki.

When Lorena finally snapped out of her isolated thoughts, she felt many death glares on her back. She turned around to face the flocks of girls giving her said death glares. She gave a death glare to kill all death glares. Her aura challenged even that of the Shadow King woken up before 10 in the morning. The glares immediately stopped.

It was now after school.

Everyone was in the Host Club. It was their hour before the club officially opened.

The Hosts respectfully waited until I had set my stuff down to bombard me with questions. "Is your older sister from Germany Lorena-chan?" "Why was she yelling at you?" "Why do you only seem to show emotion around her?" "Why can't you be on your own?" "Where is she now?" "Can we meet her?" "Tell us your life story!"

These questions and more where thrown at me. I didn't even know who was asking what, they spouted them off so fast. I held up my hand to silence them.

"No, I will not tell you my whole life story, I did only meet you yesterday after all. You'll have to make do with what I tell you now. I plan to only tell you what you deserve to know, after all, I did inconvenience you all with that scene yesterday." They all nodded at this. Though they didn't seem all too happy about me not telling them everything. I began. "Yes, that was my older sister. She only attends University in Germany. We are both originally from America. She only thinks I shouldn't be on my own. I however am fully capable of taking care of myself. I suppose you could meet her again, she will be here for a few more days until I convince her to leave. She was yelling at me because I left America without telling her beforehand. I mistakenly believed my stepmother or father would do that. I'm sure she is sleeping off jetlag right now, as I should be as well. Any questions?"

Hands shot up from almost every host. The only ones without their hands up were Kyoya, who was scribbling furiously again, Mori, and Haruhi who seemed to be pondering something.

Honey looked like he was about to explode, so I picked him first. "Why did she put a ban on sweets for you yesterday? Can you eat cake today?" Honey asked.

I replied, "She forbid me from eating sweets due to my huge sweet-tooth and she thinks I will get sick from eating too much sugar. Even though it has never happened before. She said I could eat some sweets today, just not a whole cake again." He seemed pleased by this answer and waited to listen to everyone else's questions.

Next was Tamaki. He asked, "Why is Elena-sempai so short?" I sighed. "Genetics." Was all I said in reply. He looked disappointed with this answer, but nonetheless left it alone.

Hikaru and Kaoru were last. They asked simultaneously, "So you live alone Lorena-chan?" She gave them the famous Sam Winchester "bitch-face".

"Yes, with all my pets."

"What!? You have pets?! What kind? Can we see them?!" Tamaki asked. He was really excited at the prospect of my pets.

I began the list, "Well, I have three dogs. One pit bull named Creature, one husky called Balthazar, and one German shepherd called Moose. Then I have two lizards, one bearded dragon named Merlin and a chameleon named Mycroft. And finally one red panda named Kanda."

"Wow, Lorena-chan! You have all those pets in your apartment?! It must be really big!" Honey-sempai exclaimed.

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, "Actually, I couldn't bring them all here to Japan, so I only have Merlin and Creature at my apartment. And my apartment isn't all that big. It's actually just a normal apartment, because its just me living there." Haruhi walked away muttering something about "damn rich people", though she seemed surprised I would choose to stay in a common apartment complex.

The rest of the hosts looked at me in wonder. They were most likely envisioning all of my pets. Or secretly judging me for living like a "commoner".

Assuming we were done with the endless game of 20 questions, I went over to my bag to grab my phone. I started to text Elena when Hikaru and Kaoru approached me. They wrapped an arm each around my shoulders and chorused, "Oh Lorena-chan, you should let us come to your apartment. We want to see where you live! We could also get to know you better!"

"More like you want to pry into my life and judge my home." I deadpanned.

They shrugged their shoulders, not even bothering to deny it. I rolled my eyes and shook them off. "No." Was all I had to say on the matter. I could practically see the plan forming in their heads to trick me into agreeing for them to come over.

The door creaked open and a brunette girl popped her head in. With a small and nervous voice, she said, "Um... I'm sorry, but I think it is opening time." Then girls started spilling in.

Opening time.

**A/N: AHAHAHAHA! Lots of references in this chapter! Kudos to you if you can recognize them all! **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: What's up everybody?! Another day, another update. A special thanks to BlackDiamondDesign and IceAurora for following and faving! Also thanks to PhoenixOtaku for reviewing! It's appreciated! So, I am going to be continuing these size chapter updates around twice a week. This is going to start after this chapter, so no more daily updates... :( That will also be due to the fact that my Spring Break is ending and I won't have all this time to write. :( Oh! I've also decided this is going to be a Mori/OC fic, so sorry if you were hoping for a pairing with a different character. And again, I don't own Ouran, just my OCs. Enjoy!**

The majority of the Club went by with no disturbance towards me. I did most of my homework, while listening to my american music. At some point, Elena had slipped in unnoticed by all except me. The only reason I saw her was because she notified me silently to her presence via text. She could be really sneaky when she wanted to be.

A little bit past the half-point of the Host club, Hikaru and Kaoru came over to try once more to get me to agree to them coming over. I of course refused, again. They tried to appeal to Elena, but to no avail. They then slunk off to pester Haruhi, probably wanting to go to her apartment. I didn't have to hear the conversation to know that she too refused them. I could practically see the plan forming in their heads.

Out of the blue, Elena nudged my foot under the table. "You okay over there?" She asked.

I gave her a confused look. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She just shook her head and went back to do doing whatever she does on her laptop. I shrugged and went back to my homework. And...done. Yay, no homework to do at home, maybe I can get some sleep instead.

Next thing I know Nekozawa-sempai popped his head in and started advertising for his Black Magic Club. This caused the twins to decide to torment him by shining a flashlight in his face. Nekozawa-sempai screamed bloody murder and ran back to his mysterious black doors screaming "Murderers!" I just sighed.

Why did they have to be so noisy? Why do I even hang around them? Oh yeah, I find them amusing and I'm pretty sure Mori-sempai would just kidnap me and drag me here anyways. Might as well save him the trouble, right?

I noticed from the corner of my eye, the twins were complaining that they were bored. This somehow led to them challenging Haruhi to the "Which One is Hikaru Game?" She, of course, won the game. The twins tried tricking her by saying she was wrong, like they did to me this morning. She just chuckled and said she knew she was right. One of the girls next to her asked her how she did it. She thought for a second, before saying Hikaru seemed to be a bigger trouble maker. Kaoru tried, and failed, to hide his laughter at this. That only made Hikaru angry.

Oh this was gonna be good.

The two began to argue and throw insults at each other before stomping off in opposite directions. "Sex-pixie!" "Sicko!" "YOUR MOMMA WEARS TOO MUCH MAKE-UP!" Wait, what?

The rest of the Hosts were shell-shocked. Honey-sempai explained that Hikaru and Kaoru had never fought before.

Oh yeah, this was going to be very amusing.

I allowed a small smirk to grace my lips. This didn't go unnoticed by Elena.

Then some crazy chick came up from out of the ground. I thought this was a music room?! Who's the chick?! She began ranting something about a four-way love scheme towards Haruhi. I was seriously not liking this chick. Her voice was like nails dragging down a chalkboard. She had blonde/brown hair that went just past her shoulders and a pink bow in her hair. She was wearing the horrid female uniform.

Crazy-chick then noticed me. I had gone to stand next to Haruhi, wanting to get a closer look at the action.

"Oh! Our newest member! I finally get to meet you! Hello Lorena-chan! I am Renge! I must say your mysterious-but-cute-no-emotion act is absolutely wonderful! I admire your acting skills! Let us be great friends! Oh! You must join the host club too! I know, you will be the "Friend Type!" Yes, yes! It's perfect! Girls and boys will come to you for a shoulder to cry on! Someone to hang out with! Someone to share their deepest secrets with! Someone they know will always accept them and never judge! Yes, I can see it now! It's wonderful!" She pranced around with stars in her eyes while ranting.

Did I just get forcibly made a host? 'Friend' type? ACT?! Aw hell no! She done fucked up now!

On the outside, the only reaction I had made was to raise on eyebrow and cross my arms across my chest. I said, grabbing Renge's attention, "Act? Excuse me, if I wanted to be fake, I would be very different. Believe me, if I didn't act like myself, I would probably still be in America with my family. And as for joining the host club, it seems I have no choice in the matter anyways." I gave a pointed look at Kyouya, who was scribbling furiously and probably pondering over the possible profits from this. "Why not? I got nothing better to do." I finished, shrugging my shoulders while looking back at Renge.

She had a look of what I assumed was admiration painted across her face, hands clasped in front of her chest. When my head swept the room from looking at Kyoya and back, I saw that all of the hosts were looking at us. Tamaki looked hopeful...that I would join, maybe? Who knows? Takashi looked surprised at my sudden sass-fest, but, as always, was neutral to it all. Honey was looking at me with unfiltered admiration and awe, what for I can't tell for sure. The twins had momentarily stopped fighting to look at me with curiosity, no doubt they were still trying to figure out why they almost immediately took to me and how I never fell for their tricks. And last but not least, Haruhi also looked at me with admiration, probably for speaking my mind honestly with no sugarcoating.

I waited for some objection or further comment, but gone none.

Good.

I went back to my table, where Elena was looking at me incredulously. She either expected me to break down or snap and go-off on the over-excited girl. I raised a brow in challenge at her. She just shook her head and went back to working on her laptop.

Eventually, everyone went back to whatever they were doing before. The rest of the Host Club time was tense between the twins. They refused to even look at each other. This, for some reason beyond me, only made them gain customers. These girls really were delusional.

I couldn't wait until I got home so I could finish unpacking, cleaning, ordering furniture, and sleeping off the jetlag.

Finally, the last of the customers were herded out the doors.

It was over.

If I heard one more squeal from some crazy fangirl, I was gonna put my fist through a wall. Luckily, Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai had seen my growing agitation and calmed me down with cake and cookies. Yum. I made a mental note to do something for them later to thank them. I'll probably just bake them a cake each. One super chocolate one for Honey, and a light vanilla cake for Mori. That would do it.

I got up and began packing my things. Seeing me, Elena also got up and gathered her things. The whole time the Host Club was open, she was working, though I could tell she still had one eye on me the whole time. She worries too much.

When we were walking through the hallways to go home, Haruhi pulled me aside to quiz me on how I could tell the twins apart and never mixed them up. I just replied, "It's basically what you said Haruhi-chan, even if they look the same, they are very different. For example, the underlying tones in their voices are different, and there are very subtle differences in their eyes." She just nodded, taking in my opinion.

We both failed to notice the twins hiding just around the corner and listening to every word we said.

She then gave me every host's phone number. I plugged them into my phone. I tried to give her my own, but apparently they had all gotten it from Kyoya-sempai. That sneaky bastard.

We said our goodbyes and departed.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello again! Since I am back in school, I have started my twice a week updates. I will try to keep them consistent! I'm thinking I will update every Monday and Thursday. Sound good to everyone? Great! Special thanks going out to Kodymarie, OCLover89, Rissyroo123, and ShadowWolfDemon19 for following and faving this! And as always, thank you to everyone who has/will fav/follow this or even just read it. Hopefully my writing is improving? Excuse any grammatical or spelling errors please. You guys have been so supportive and nice! I will definitely create more stories! But let's finish this one first! Take it away Russia-san!**

** Russia: *scary aura* *raises pipe menacingly* kolkolkolkolkol... Don't even think of suing Author-chan! She doesn't own your anime! Just her OCs! kolkolkolkol... *fades into the blackness***

** Me: ... E-E-Enjoy.**

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The next morning, Lorena woke up late.

She had slept off the last of the jetlag and was rushing to get to school. She grabbed an apple and the cakes she had made for Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai last night on the way out the door and ran down the stairs on the side of the apartment complex.

She waved to the landlady while rushing down the street. The landlady was a nice old lady who allowed her to live on her own with her pets in peace. She occasionally made a meal for Lorena and gave it to her ever since she discovered Lorena sometimes didn't eat. She said she wanted her to stay strong and healthy. She assumed the role of Lorena's grandmother. She made sure Lorena had everything she needed and had lunch with her every Saturday. And in turn, Lorena did things for her, whether would be changing a light bulb, hanging up a picture, painting a room, fixing something, hanging up a shelf, etc.

When I got to the classroom, I was out of breath. I fixed my hair and tie and entered the room. What I saw next made me feel bad for Haruhi. I saw Hikaru and Kaoru throwing things at each other. Poor Haruhi was stuck in the middle already looking tired of it.

I took pity on her and approached her. Careful not to get hit by any flying objects, I pulled her up and brought her away from the two.

We sat in the front instead.

She gave me an appreciative look and I just offered an apologetic smile in return. I looked back at the fighting twins when I noticed their hair colors. Hikaru's hair was a bright flamingo pink while Kaoru's hair was bright blue. I just shook my head and sat down next to Haruhi. This was going to be a long class.

I sat my apple on the edge of my desk, figuring I'd eat it later.

Lunch time rolled around and I got up to go to the cafeteria with Haruhi. I almost just had lunch in the classroom, but Haruhi convinced me to go with her so we could keep an eye on the twins. I reluctantly agreed. When we got there, the twins were shouting what they wanted at the poor chefs, they kept ordering the same thing.

"You two are still fighting? Look at the scene you're making. You're a disgrace to the Host Club." Tamaki said, walking in with the rest of the hosts. "Oh! I didn't expect to see you here Haruhi!" He exclaimed, a metaphoric dog-tail wagging behind him.

Haruhi replied with an almost bored look, "Yeah, I was going to eat in the classroom since Lorena is now familiar with you guys, but I was worried about those two." I nodded in agreement. We went to sit down at a table. I sat across from Haruhi and got my lunch out.

Hikaru sat to the left of Haruhi and traded lunch with her. Kaoru then sat down on the other side of Haruhi and tried to give her a bite of his food. However, Hikaru took the bite instead.

"Butt-out Kaoru!" He said, his mouth still around the spoon. Kaoru got a mischievous glint in his eyes and suddenly threw a plate of what looked like soup at Hikaru. Hikaru was too quick though, pulling an unsuspecting Tamaki in front of him to take the hit. Tamaki got a face full of soup.

The twins then started chucking food and other objects at each other again. Haruhi sighed and just grabbed her lunch and left. I, however, stayed to watch a little longer. That's when Honey-sempai was thrown too. I hopped up and grabbed him before he could get hurt. I saw Mori-sempai from the corner of my eye look surprised I had gotten there first.

I put Honey on my lap and mumbled, "Be careful Honey-sempai, we wouldn't want you to get hurt." Honey looked up at me with wide eyes before smiling widely. He turned around and stood on my legs.

He pat my head, like he sometimes does to Mori, and said cheerfully, "Good job Rena-chan! You're so nice! Isn't she Takashi-kun?" Only then had I noticed Mori-sempai had walked over to stand next to us.

"Ah." He replied.

"Wow, Rena-chan! You're hair is so soft! Don't you think so Takashi-kun?" Honey said, hand still in my hair. Mori-sempai also gave my head a pat. He was hesitant at first, seeing if it was okay with me. When I gave no objection, he continued to pat my head. His hand was so big! How was that even possible?! His hand is probably bigger than my face!

"Yeah, it is soft, like a kitty." Mori said in response to Honey's earlier question. It was funny to hear him say so much. Wait... Like a kitty? That's weird... Oh well. They continued to pat my head for a few more minutes until they went off to have their own lunch.

I stood up, done with the noise and went back to the classroom where Haruhi was. I sat down. Haruhi looked at me worriedly. "Rena-chan, isn't this your apple from this morning? Why didn't you eat breakfast? Why did you just put your lunch away? Aren't you going to eat?" She questioned, genuinely worried for my health.

I just chuckled and shook my head. "Yes, that is my breakfast apple, and no, I'm not eating lunch. I'm just not hungry." I shrugged dismissively and waved it off. Haruhi was not in the least bit pleased with that answer. Nevertheless, she let it go.

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**A/N: So? Was it any good? Questions? Comments? Concerns? Punny jokes? Ways to improve my writing? Funny stories? Until next time my friends!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello again! I hope everyone's week has been at least tolerable. Special thanks to TheBetrayed0-0, Yaoifan-gurl-forever, kpotter1993, AHoboNamedDruggy, and Creative Lunatic for following and faving! You guys continue to fill my black unfeeling heart with happiness! Thank you so much!**

** Disclaimer: Ugh, this again? Obviously I don't own Ouran, I'm broke.**

** *Trigger Warning* I'm not exactly sure if it's necessary, but just to be on the safe side. Poor Rena-chan has a panic attack, so I am gonna put this up here just in case. Is it needed?**

* * *

After class, I had told Haruhi and the twins I would be a little late to the club today. I had given the cakes to Haruhi to give to Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai for me. But now, I had to make a call to Elena, whom I had convinced to board a plane last night to go back to Germany. I also had to call my father to update him on things happening over here.

The call to Elena was quick and easy, now to call dad. I took a deep breath. The phone rang, on the second ring, it was picked up. "Hello?" A deep voice asked on the other end of the call. It was around four here, so it was probably around five in the morning there. I knew he would be up by now.

"Dad?" I replied hesitantly. I heard some rustling on the other end. Most likely he was moving papers for work to the side to give me his full attention.

"Lorena? What's up? Is something wrong?" He asked worriedly.

I chuckled. "No dad, everything's fine. I just called to tell you Elena got on a plane last night to go back to Germany. I also got all of my new furniture, but I'm not completely done unpacking. Ummmm... What else? Oh yeah, I met some new people, I think I would already consider them friends. They're noisy and crazy beyond belief, but they seem like a good bunch of people." He chuckled in response.

"Yeah, I actually just got off of the phone with Elena. She told me all about your new friends. I'm happy to hear you are talking to people and are feeling better. I'm just sorry you couldn't do that here." he took a deep breath, "I know I've been a sucky-excuse for a dad lately, and I want to make it up to you. Will you forgive me?" I smiled a sad smile, even though he couldn't see it.

"Of course daddy. I love you." I practically whispered the last part, not used to saying that in so long. He let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank you Lorena. I love you. Goodbye darling."

"Bye daddy." I hung up the phone and turned around, ready to go to the Host Club, if they weren't already looking for me, making sure I hadn't completely skipped it.

But when I did turn around, I came face to face with black. A black cloak to be exact. I jerked, surprised, I had not heard anyone approaching. I looked up into blue eyes. "Hello Nekozawa-sempai. Is there something I can help you with?" I cocked my head to the side, inwardly wondering why he would approach me.

"Good day Lorena-chan. Yes yes, I did have a purpose for coming to you this fine afternoon. You see, I was just on my way to the Host Club when I saw you and thought you might as well return this-" he pulled out Honey-sempai's Usa-chan, "-to our beloved Honey-sempai. You see, he loaned it to my little sister, Kirimi-chan, when she had a doctors appointment and was scared. I assumed you were on your way there now? Could you please return it for me? Oh, and give my thanks to Honey-sempai." He then shoved the stuffed rabbit into my hands and fled down the hall without another word, or so much as a glance back.

"Oh of course Nekozawa-sempai, I'd be delighted to return it for you. Have a good day." I mumbled sarcastically. I started walking in the opposite direction, towards the Host Club.

When I was halfway down the hall leading to Music Room #3 I could already hear the yelling. I opened the door a crack about to walk in when I heard, "It's driving you insane?! Are you kidding me?! I'm the one who's sick of it! Every time I look in the mirror I see his face! I'm sick and tired of always being constantly mistaken for you Kaoru! The truth is, I hate your guts!"

The world stopped in that moment. I froze. Nothing registered in my mind for a split second, and when I came to, I couldn't take it.

Next thing I new, I was stumble-running down the hallway. I ducked into the nearest abandoned classroom. Thoughts were flashing through my mind so fast I couldn't register half of them. I started hyperventilating, my heart sped up in that painful way it does when you're scared. I realized, I was having a panic attack. I fell to the floor, the door behind me was only open a couple of inches, a small ray of light streaming in from it was the only source of light. My hands were shaking, I had to get myself under control. I fumbled around, searching through my pockets until I found what Elena had given me the previous night. An inhaler. It wasn't for asthma, though. No, this was for an occasion such as this. For panic attacks. So I could breathe again. I put it up to my mouth and inhaled. Almost instantly, my airway was open once again and I could breathe properly. I distracted myself with going over recipes in my head and humming a tune called "Once Upon a December" from the movie "Anastasia." I gradually began to calm down, my heart no longer painfully thumping in my chest. I can hear more than just the blood pumping in my veins now. My shaking goes down to a slight tremble. I continue to hum the song, it calms me.

Once I had gotten a hold over my emotions, I stood up, shakily. I looked around, making sure I had not disturbed anything in the classroom. I hadn't, so I left. I closed the door behind me and found Usa-chan lying on the ground just a few feet away. I must have dropped it in my retreat.

I picked him up and dusted him off. Still humming the song, I "danced" with Usa-chan back down the hallway. I could no longer hear yelling from the twins. Now prepared for anything, I stopped my waltz at the door.

Once again, I grabbed the cold handle with my right hand, the left cradling Usa-chan still. I opened the door and walked in. "You're kidding me! You were just faking this whole time?!" Honey-sempai "yelled," childishly flailing his arms around in a cute manner. The twins just laughed. Haruhi and Tamaki were on the ground, presumably because they were fooled.

"Well of course they were faking it, Honey-sempai." I said, deciding to announce my arrival. Everyone's heads whipped around to look at me, obviously they had not heard me come in. I smirked. I held out the stuffed bunny to him. His whole face lit up as he bounded over to me and jumped in my arms. He rubbed his hand on my head, ruffling my blonde hair. "Is this your new favorite thing to do to me Honey-sempai?" I asked jokingly.

He smiled, "Yep! Ever since I discovered it's so soft! It's fun! Takashi likes it too! Don't you Takashi?" The question directed to Mori-sempai, he turned in my arms to face him. Mori walked over and put his hand on my head too.

"Yeah." he said. He had a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Oh!" exclaimed Honey-sempai, "Thank you for the cakes by the way Rena-chan! They were delicious!" he finished with an adorable grin on his face. I just smiled in response, happy they had enjoyed them.

"Excuse me, Lorena-chan, but what exactly did you mean by 'of course they were faking it'?" Kyoya-sempai asked me, pen ready to jot down my answer. I giggled-rather uncharacteristically and girlishly-and shook my head. "It's really not that complicated. I mean, two people as close to each other as Kaoru and Hikaru aren't just going to hate each other because of what someone else says about them. You guys have known them longer than I, you should know by now that they really don't give a damn about what other people think of them. If they did...well, I don't think they would be as close as they are." Kyoya was nodding and writing all the while I was answering.

I looked at the twins, they had incredulous looks on their faces. _Too bad my arms are full, that would be a hilarious picture_.

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**A/N: So? Was it any good? I now have to do math homework and laundry...ugh. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: What's up guys?! It feels like it's been FOREVER since I last updated. But here you go! A special thanks to Guest for reviewing!**

** In response to your review: It was not my intention to make it seem like she had high functioning autism. If you really want to know, poor Lorena-chan is suffering from severe depression and PTSD (which you'll have to wait for the explanation in a later chapter. Hehe, I'm evil! :D).**

**The episode that this chapter is taking place in (Jungle Pool SOS) is spanning across multiple chapters (which will contain Mori/Lorena fluff). You're welcome.**

** Disclaimer: If I owned Ouran I would have mountains of cookies in my pantry. But alas, I do not. I am cookie-less... *muffled sobbing***

** Enjoy!**

* * *

Weeks had passed since the twins had "fought" and I had had my panic attack. I had officially been made a member of the Host Club. I was the "Friend Type."

At first, I didn't have many requests, mostly because people didn't know if I would be nice or what requesting me entailed. Though, after my first week of a customer here and there, suddenly everyone wanted to request me. It was probably because the people who came to me for help on classwork started getting straight A's. Oh well.

On Mondays, I would hang out with Tamaki at his house after club. On Tuesdays, I would go to Kyoya's house to discuss business. Kyoya saw through my façade and I saw through his. We made an agreement to never mention it again. On Wednesdays, I would go to Honey and Mori's house to eat cake and compete in almost everything. On Thursdays, I would go over to Haruhi's house to hang out, at first, we just studied, but as we got to know each other better and better, we started to do other things together too. Sometimes I would have dinner with her and her father, sometimes we went shopping, sometimes we just had a movie marathon. And on Fridays and Saturdays, the twins would abduct me and take me to have a sleepover at their house.

The twins were weird.

They were super clingy and protective and jealous. When they took me shopping and forced me to wear almost whatever they wanted, they glared at any other guy who dared look at me. They threatened guys who flirted with me, then turned around and did it too. They insisted I sleep in their bed with them, though most of the time I refused and slept in a guest bed. I would only agree when I had had a phone call from her stepmother-even though they didn't know that-and insisted they be on their best behaviors when I did. They did as they were told, fearing that I would hate them if they didn't. They tried to trick me all the time and always tried to pry into my life, no matter what it was.

Now, it was a Friday again, so I assumed the twins would drag me off eagerly again...but they never came to "retrieve" me. I shrugged, maybe they were giving me this Friday off? _Or maybe they're tired of you_. That annoying voice of insecurity said in the back of my head. I couldn't help but feel a twang of pain from that, so I put up my walls again.

I didn't allow myself to feel anything about it, and I entered the outer courtyard, walking home already. Honey came bounding up to me from the side, yelling, "Rena-chan! Wait up!" I stopped and turned to him. He slowed down as he got closer, and soon enough, he was tugging on my hand. I leaned down, and he motioned like he wanted to tell me a secret, I leaned down further until my ear was next to his mouth. He whispered, "We have a surprise for you Rena-chan.~" I looked at him confusedly for a minute, and when I was about to ask what it was, he snatched my bag from my hand. I simply looked at the hand that had had a bag in it a second prior and back up to him, as if saying, "Why'd you do that?" He just giggled and pointed behind me.

I stood up straight and turned around to where he was pointing. I saw Mori-sempai, and he was running. Towards us, arms out, like he was about to tackle someone in a game of American football. And unlike Honey-sempai, he was not slowing down. If anything, he got faster once I had seen him.

My eyes widened in realization, I turned back around, but before I could take one running step, two lean, muscular arms wrapped around my mid-section and lifted me up into the air. I squealed, flailing my legs out in a hopeless attempt to get away. Mori turned me around to face him-still mid-air in his arms-and put me on his shoulder. He carried me...like a sack of potatoes.

He began walking towards the gates-where I was originally going-as if he didn't just kidnap someone and this was a normal situation. Behind us, Honey-sempai trailed, carrying all three of our bags, smiling like a fool.

"What are you smiling at?" I asked, wary of his answer.

"You'll see!" was his vague and cheerful answer. I huffed and propped my elbow on Mori's back, resting my cheek on my fist.

I looked to my left and saw that the twins had abducted Haruhi...so that's where they went. At least they didn't abandon me. Haruhi caught my eye from across the courtyard and I gave her an apologetic and pitying look. She however, did not give me one back. When she noticed my situation, she just smirked at me and looked quite amused. I stuck my tongue out in retaliation. The twins saw me and got red in the face when they saw Mori-sempai was carrying me, and not just dragging me or something.

But they didn't stop him, after all, they had their own hostage to escort.

Speaking of, where the hell are we even going?

Next thing I know, I'm being dragged off towards what I assume are changing rooms. Yes, dragged. Apparently, Mori-sempai had gotten tired of carrying me like a sack of potatoes because now he was just dragging me by the back of my collar. He handed me off to two identical twin maids. Honey got even more excited-if it was even possible. Mori just smirked, and I could've sworn I saw mischief twinkle in his eyes.

~Takashi's POV~

Hikaru and Kaoru's twin maids dragged Rena-chan into the changing room that I knew was filled with various swimsuits. Although I'd never admit it out loud, I was looking forward to seeing what swimsuit she would choose or would be chosen for her.

It was strange. Rena was so different from all of the other girls in the Host Club. The other girls were always making those horrible squeals that make me want to claw my ears off. But Rena, she didn't fall for any of the usual tricks. Although, that's probably due to the walls she has built around her heart. She doesn't want to trust anyone. It's like she doesn't want to risk getting hurt. I want to learn about her past, but I also want to respect her wishes and privacy.

From inside the changing room, I heard two identical gasps of shock and horror. And just barely, I could hear Rena-chan mumble, "I told you, I knew you would react like that." She sounded so sad and hurt, I felt pain go through my own heart at this. I wanted to make her happy again, hopefully this little trip here would cheer her up.

"How about this one?" I could hear one of the maids suggest. I could imagine her holding up some skimpy, girly swimsuit. I chuckled lightly at what I could imagine her face would look like.

"Over my dead body." Rena-chan replied, no longer sounding sad and hurt. I smirked at no one imparticular, I could always count on Lorena-chan to amuse me. "I'll use this one." Rena-chan said, a tone of finality to her voice.

I could hear the twin maids sigh, probably not liking her choice, but allowing it anyways. "Oh, and that t-shirt as well."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: What's up?! I feel like it's been forever since I last posted. And I don't know about you guys, but I am SOO ready for school to be over! It's horrible! Anyways, special thanks go to banana minion of the pixy stix, tula453, caring16, moondragonhonor247, Aria868, loopyhutton, LilyMango, Tempest99a, and Savage Kill for faving and following. That's a lot of people! Thank you guys so much! **

**Otaku147: Thanks so much for reviewing! And thanks for the encouragement, I'll definitely do just that! As for what the maids saw, you'll have to see in future chapters (hehehe I'm evil!).**

** Savage Kill: Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you find it funny, that was my intention (partly). As for the reason behind poor Rena-chan's panic attack, it'll be explained in a later chapter (again, evil author-chan). Also, the reason her step-mother hates her so much will be elaborated on later. And her step-mother is a bitch...so, yeah.**

** As always, thank you to everyone who reads this. You guys are so nice! You fill the little space in my black heart with happiness. Seriously. Thank you.**

** Disclaimer: Ahh... So we meet again... We all know by now that I am broke. I obviously don't own Ouran. Only my OCs.**

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~Back to Lorena's POV~

I walked out the side door of the changing rooms, and man, I was so happy to be out of that hell-hole. Can you believe those twin maids tried to make me wear some skimpy pink bikini? I don't think so. And I told them "Over my dead body." Well, needless to say they didn't expect that. So, I had to choose my own swimsuit since it seemed there was no way to get out of it.

I chose a black bikini that had neon green strings and a neon green star over the left boob-cup. Yes, I said boob-cup, get over it. I also demanded that I be given a t-shirt that was hidden in the corner. It was a form fitting black t-shirt that just barely covered my butt. My legs, however, were exposed, which I wasn't happy about, but at least I had the t-shirt. I would not have come out if I didn't have the t-shirt.

I looked around, having no idea where to go, or even where I was. I saw the twins dragging Haruhi towards me, well, more likely the changing rooms I was now standing in front of.

It seemed as if Mori-sempai and Honey-sempai had gone to change as well.

The twins handed Haruhi off to the twin maids and I gave her a pitying look, knowing exactly what she was about to go through. She looked scared when she saw my look of pity. I mouthed, "I'm so sorry." before she was dragged off into the changing rooms.

The twins looked at me, silently assessing my swimwear, or to be precise, the t-shirt. They did not seem pleased. "Rena-chan," Hikaru started, "Why are you wearing that t-shirt? We wanted to see you in a sexy swimsuit!" Kaoru finished, attempting to give me puppy-eyes. I crossed my arms over my chest, blowing a stray piece of blonde hair out of my eyes.

"You're lucky you got this much," I replied, giving them a challenging look. They backed down, but still pouted childishly.

Tamaki came up behind the twins, completely focused on what Haruhi was saying in the changing rooms. "But, that's only a couple of strings!" We heard Haruhi-chan say from inside the rooms. Tamaki immediately got super red-faced and fainted right there. I just shook my head and sighed. _Boys_. I thought.

I saw across the way that Honey-sempai was bounding down the path, already dressed in his swimming trunks with Mori-sempai trailing behind, but still keeping up due to his long legs. He too was dressed in his swimming trunks.

And can I just say, day-umn.

Any normal girl would've fainted by now. But I was not normal, so I only had a barely noticeable pink dusting on my cheeks.

By now, Honey-sempai had reached me. "Rena-chan, come with us! Let's go have fun now! Hurry! Hurry!" He dragged me along by my hand, rushing back down the path to wherever we were going. Time to figure out where the hell we were.

~Takashi's POV~

Honey was practically running down the path to Rena-chan, waiting for us to show her where to go. She turned from the twins and looked at us. My breath caught in my throat, almost choking on it, but not quite. A strange feeling sprouted in my stomach, butterflies? I suddenly had a strong urge to hold her and...kiss her? What the heck, she's not even my girlfriend or anything... I guess it was a good thing I'm not tired right now. She looked so different than what we normally saw her in-the male school uniform. Her long legs were exposed, but she was wearing a t-shirt that covered everything else. I didn't really see the point in her wearing the t-shirt, it stuck to her like a second skin. I could clearly see her curves despite the shirt. She was beautiful.

I was now very glad that the host club were the only ones here. I didn't want any other guys looking at her. What was with me today?! Again, it's not like she's my girlfriend or anything! _"Yet..."_ said a small voice in the back of my head. I quickly shook the thought away, she probably didn't even like me back. I couldn't help but feel sad at that.

Well, no doubt in my mind now, I liked her. A lot. How had she managed to worm her way into my heart? I knew that part of the reason I had fallen for her was due to Mitsukuni. He had purposely done things that got me closer to her. He was actually very sneaky, despite what everyone else thought.

Now all I had to do now was to see if she liked me back. Well, I could have fun with that. (A/N: *eyebrow wiggling* *wink* /shot)

Mitsukuni grabbed her hand and began dragging her back the way we came, almost running. He ran by me, easily slipping past, but Lorena-chan did not due to her larger size. He caused her arm to bump into mine, and when our skin touched, I could swear I felt a shock go through me, and when she moved past completely, our arms no longer touching, got the distinct feeling I missed it.

Mitsukuni was not going to make this easy for me.

~Lorena's POV~

Honey grabbed my hand so suddenly, I ended up stumbling after him, which caused the t-shirt to ride up even further.

He bounded so close to Mori-sempai but still slipped past him easily enough. I, however, was not so lucky. Due to my larger size, I bumped into Mori-sempai. Our arms brushed against each other. And when they did, I could feel the shock that passed between us.

And all too soon, I had passed him, and I felt that I was missing something now.

Well, I didn't know where my phone was... But... That wasn't it... I couldn't...like him? Do I?

No. I won't allow it. I won't be hurt again. It's not worth the risk...right?

I should probably talk to Elena about it, but I can already imagine her response. She'd say something ridiculous like, "Go for it! You two will look so~ cute together! I'll plan the wedding!"

And I'd respond with, "Elena! I don't even know if he likes me! I'm probably just another annoying girl to him!" Then she would surely blackmail me into some crazy plan to embarrass me and try to see if he did have feelings for me, which he most likely wouldn't. Then things would be super awkward between us and our friendship would be ruined and I'd have to transfer out of shame of whatever I was forced to do.

Okay, maybe that was a but of an exaggeration, but it could still happen! No, I couldn't tell Elena. But knowing her, she probably already knows by her "super-sister-psychic-powers" as she called them. Bull. More like hacking my phone and laptop and getting info from Kyoya-sempai. He would do it too, I just know he would.

~Honey's POV~

When I saw Rena-chan in her swimsuit, I was so excited and happy. I could see why Takashi likes her so much. She is really pretty! I just had to make them get together! They were perfect!

Although, I was a little disappointed she was wearing a t-shirt over her swimsuit, despite it sticking to her. The more skin she showed the faster they'd get together!

Then I came up with the best idea ever. I quickly grabbed Rena-chan's hand and dragged her behind me back down the path. I purposely went near Takashi and slipped by him, making Rena-chan brush arms with him. Well, I was hoping for a bigger collision, but Rena-chan had good reflexes.

I had to up my game.

But Rena-chan was no dummy, she was very smart. I'd have to make sure to try and keep my plan a secret from her for as long as possible. I could already think of so many things I could do to get them closer together. This was going to be fun.

~Back to Lorena's POV~

I pushed the thoughts out of my head, deciding to worry about it later. By now, Honey-sempai had dragged me to what looked like the main area of this place. He let go of my hand.

Then I figured it out, we were at a water park. But why we were the only ones here and how we had gotten access to this place still eluded me. I looked around, noting the complete glass roof and real looking trees and birds.

I saw Kyoya-sempai leaning against a palm tree while writing in his black notebook.

_Oh, there's Kyoya-sempai, maybe he can explain._ I thought to myself, walking over to him.

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** A/N: So? Any good? Please excuse any grammatical or spelling errors. By the way, feel free to suggest things that you may want to happen. No guarantees that I'll use it though. Oh, and keep it PG please, I don't write lemons or anything like that (sorry not sorry). Have a good Easter everybody!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hello everybody! Another Monday...bleh...but another update! Yay! Sorry this one was a little later than normal, but Mondays for me means switching houses again. *shrugs* Oh well, can't really do anything to change it. As always implied, thank you everyone who reads/follows/favs/reviews/etc on my story! I love all of you beautiful people! Special thanks to OnepieceZoroOc. Apocalypsebutterfly, loopyhutton, and YuYuHakushoObsessor for following and faving!**

**SavageKill: Haha, yes Honey-sempai is very sneaky... Thanks for the review!**

**Allora22701: Yep! It's easier for readers to place the story in a time slot. And it's easier for me 'cause I don't have to make completely new things up and risk OOC-ness. Thanks for the review!**

**loopyhutton: Thank you so much! I hope I won't disappoint! Thanks for reviewing!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: Oh my gosh thank you so much! You're so nice! I was actually considering pairing Lorena with one of the twins, but after much discussion with my own twin (*gasp*) I decided on Mori-sempai. I'm glad you like Rena-chan! I was hoping people didn't find her annoying. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: *clears throat* *sips lemonade* *deadpan* No. Don't sue.**

**Enjoy!**

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I approached Kyoya-sempai, who was already in his swimsuit and a t-shirt - but still had that damn black notebook. He closed it when he saw me approaching.

"Ah, Lorena-chan, what can I do for you?" He asked, that smug smile on his face. He knew why I was here, he just decided to patronize me, see if he could rile me up. Heh, he'll have to try harder than that.

"Kyoya-sempai, I'm sure you already know what I'm going to ask, but I'm still going to ask. Where are we? And why are we the only ones here?"

The smugness still on his face, he replied coolly, "We are my family's new water park facility. It officially opens next month, but the Host Club was given special admission."

Well that answered a lot. Figures Kyoya-sempai was behind this. But, he had to be doing this for a reason, he was probably using us as a sort of "beta-test".

He glanced down at my left forearm, then grabbed it and pulled it up closer to his face. He looked me in the face, now uncomfortably close, "Why Lorena-chan, would never have pegged you as a person to have a tattoo." Then he noticed my right arm, "Oh, make that two." He gave me that fake smile he uses all the time which I found kinda creepy-not that I would ever tell him that.

"Well, we all make mistakes every once and a while Kyo-kun." I retorted with a small smirk. He froze, presumably shocked that I had dare ensue he had made a mistake, though more likely because I used the pet-name for him.

Mori-sempai came over and took my arms away from Kyoya-sempai. He too inspected them. He read my left one first, "Jenna." He looked up at my face, expecting an answer or an explanation. My heart was breaking, he was reminding me of something I didn't want to think or talk about. Horrible things.

He read the one on my right arm. "No more." He looked at my face again, but now I was looking at the ground, I could not see his face.

"Rena-chan! Come over here!" My saving angel came in the form of Honey-sempai.

~Takashi's POV~

I was abandoned as Mitsukuni went off to do whatever he does and Lorena-chan went to talk to Kyoya. I really didn't want her talking to him. He was sneaky and conniving. She probably didn't see it, but I saw him run his eyes over her form while she wasn't looking.

They began talking and I couldn't help but feel...jealous? Then he grabbed her arm, I began quickly walking over to snatch her out of his grasp. I was about to snatch her away when he said "tattoos" and "two".

I smirked internally when she retorted, but stopped when I heard her say "Kyo-kun", albeit sarcastically. I don't know why, but it made me so mad at the thought of her being closer to that damn Kyoya than me.

I took her arms away from that sneaky Kyoya and looked at her arms, just as he had been. Her left arm said, "Jenna". I looked at her face, trying to see any indication as to who this was. She wouldn't look at me, but I could see in her eyes the immense pain and sorrow. Actually, sorrow doesn't cut it, despair? Agony? Misery? I couldn't find the word.

I read the other tattoo on her right arm, "No more." What does that mean? I looked at her again, and she still wouldn't look at me.

We had never seen these tattoos before because she wore the male's uniform all the time, and when she helped Haruhi out with washing the dishes, the suds would be clear up to her elbows. And her casual clothes always had either long sleeves or a hoodie.

It pained me greatly to see her in such despair and misery. I wanted to make her smile again, to laugh again. I wanted her to smile at me. Was I being selfish?

"Rena-chan! Come over here!" Mitsukuni called. I could see the relief on her face as she went over to him, going to see what he wanted.

~Back to Lorena's POV~

I quickly walked-almost jogging-over to Honey-sempai. I could feel two pairs of eyes on my back, but I didn't bother to acknowledge them. I finally saw what Honey-sempai needed as I stopped in front of him.

He was trying to blow up an Usa-chan swim ring. "Need help, Honey-sempai?" I asked, quickly forgetting the tense moment back there.

He looked up at me-I could've sworn I saw a trace of pity in his eyes for a moment-and smiled cheerily. "If you don't mind Rena-chan?" he asked in his cute little voice.

I couldn't help it, he was too cute. But don't go thinking I was gonna squeal like one of those psychotic fangirls, oh God no. I just sat down and grabbed the deflated ring from his smaller hands with an amused look.

I quickly blew it up, and when I was finished, he took it and put it on. Before I could stand up, he quickly kissed my cheek in thanks and bounced away.

I definitely wasn't expecting that.

I stood up and looked back to where I had been not just three minutes ago. Now, Tamaki-sempai, Kaoru, Hikaru, and Haruhi were here too. Haruhi was wearing a yellow pull-over hoodie and green plaid shorts, the twins and Tamaki were in their swimming trunks as well.

I walked over to them, going around the banana peel Hikaru had just thrown carelessly onto the ground. They were apparently questioning why Haruhi didn't want to swim.

"I'm just not that big on water parks, we're just gonna spend the whole day goofing off. Honestly, I'd rather be at home." she explained. I nodded my head in a silent agreement.

When she started to explain to the twins what a plastic pool was, I kind of zoned out. I knew what she was talking about, but I had never been in one personally. After all, my family was super rich. Tamaki ripped the twins away, telling them not to be mean and let Haruhi believe it is a pool if she says it's a pool. Then he said that she couldn't help but be ignorant because she was a "commoner."

"So are we supposed to lie to her? Is that what you want?" the twins asked simultaneously.

"I can't help but feel I should be offended by that comment." Haruhi deadpanned to herself. I pat her back comfortingly.

"Don't worry Haruhi-chan, I know what you're talking about." she looked relieved that at least one person knew what she was saying.

As the twins were teasing Tamaki about his reasons on making Haruhi wear the clothes over her swimsuit and him trying - and failing - to defend himself, I saw Honey-sempai skipping his way over to us. And by the mischievous glint in his eye, I knew he was up to something. I just didn't know what he was going to do, and to whom he was going to do it to.

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**A/N: What's this? Jealous Mori? Ooooh... We'll just have to wait and see! *laughs evilly as I run away from angry readers***


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: *sigh* Hi guys. I'm so tired right now. I had a test in ALL OF MY CLASSES today. It sucked. And I now have to take out the trash and do math homework. Ew.**

**Special thanks go to EywaxBaby, Little-Angel-02, ArnimixJewealz, Raiden Uzumaki-Namikaze, daintydreams, ilrab, Cheshire neko, and for faving and following!**

**caring16: Yes he is! Thanks for the encouragement! Thanks for reviewing!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Savage Kill: You'll see in this chapter Honey's plan unfold! And you got it right, he is going to pull his plan on Rena-chan, she just didn't know it. As for her tattoos, sorry, I probably should've gone into more detail about them. I imagined them to be just regular black words going vertically, along her arms (if that makes any sense). I'll be sure to fix that! Thanks for reviewing!**

**loopyhutton: Thanks so much!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any of it except my OCs.**

**Enjoy!**

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~Honey's POV Real Quick~

Now was time to put my plan into action while looking cute and innocent!

~Lorena's POV(Told You It Was Quick)~

Honey-sempai popped up next to Haruhi and grabbed her arm, saying, "Haru-chan! Let's play! Wanna go swimming in the current pool with me?"

"Nah, I'm not gonna swim today." Haruhi responded with a tired sigh. "Hold on," she continued, "you know how to swim, do you still need that float?" He shook his head.

"Just looks cuter this way, you know?" he said, posing for the proverbial camera. Then he pranced away, with me in tow. He had grabbed my hand when he passed me, and again I saw that mischievous glint in his eyes and a smirk. This little guy was up to something, and I was gonna figure out what it was. As he was dragging me away by my hand, I heard Haruhi and the twins agree with him, saying he was so innocent and cute.

Then I heard the worst noise I could possibly hear ever in my entire life...metal screeching and the whir of a motor. I let out an almost imperceptible whimper, closing my eyes for half a second. Almost imperceptible. To my horror, it seemed that Honey-sempai heard it because he stopped for a minute to see if I was okay. I could hear Renge spouting off how Honey-sempai was not as innocent as he seemed. Then she went off on a whole tangent of who she was cos-playing. Personally, I had never heard of whatever she was talking about.

Honey-sempai went back to prancing towards the current pool. And he didn't look like he was slowing down any time soon. If anything, he was speeding up. That's when I figured out what he was planning to do. I tried to pull away, but damn he had a strong grip on my hand.

"Takashi!" he yelled, jumping into the pool...with me... When I came up and wiped the waterlogged hair out of my face, Honey was waving and smiling at Mori-sempai like nothing just happened. But it didn't look like he was paying attention to him. His face was red and he was standing stiffly, though for what reason I'm not sure of.

When Renge began her reasoning behind her statement about Honey-sempai, Kyoya told them to put "I" at the beginning of his last sentence to them.

From the silence, I assumed they were thinking for a minute. Wait for it... Wait for it~~~... "He planned that?!"

I just smirked and shook my head, they only just got that? Renge said that he had felt threatened by Shiro from not to long ago and he wanted to keep his status as the "Lolita-type." Well, I didn't know that.

"Is that true Honey-sempai?" I asked him as he floated next to me, cocking my head to the side. He nodded his head in affirmation, still smiling. "No one could ever replace you, Honey-sempai." I assured him. He looked happy and relieved at this.

I pulled myself up out of the pool and sat on the edge, my legs still in the water. Mori-sempai jumped in and started swimming briskly against the current as Honey-sempai jumped on his back and sat on him.

"Hey, look everybody!" Honey-sempai called to the rest of the hosts not too far away, "Even though we're moving really fast we're not moving any farther than we are now!" I'm sure the others couldn't really understand what he had said, but he was still cute.

I shook my head and got up, going to talk to Haruhi when Tamaki was hit in the face with a stream of water from Kaoru's water gun. Where did they even get those?

They challenged him to a water fight, but he refused, saying it was childish. Their eyes glinted and they sprung over to me and Haruhi. _Uh oh._ I thought. This was gonna be interesting.

"Haruhi, Rena-chan, I think it's time that we got married!" Hikaru said, an arm around each of our shoulders. "Then we'll honeymoon in Atami!" Kaoru finished.

A dark aura emanated from Tamaki as he furiously pumped a water gun, he stopped, and turned his head towards us, eyes glinting. "Do you think I'd really let my precious daughters marry you guys?" he started, at a normal tone. "Daddy says NO!" he finished with a yell, squirting water at the twins as he said it.

Haruhi guided me away from the mini-war between the three to have a drink, me leaving a trail of water behind me. We sat under an umbrella-in an indoor waterpark?-and relaxed. If I thought my shirt was form-sitting before, now it had basically fused to my skin. I was completely soaked from when Honey-sempai had jumped into the pool with me in tow. I traced the black cursive letters running along my left arm that spelled out Jenna's name. The memories still hurt so bad it made me want to curl up and die. I could feel the void in my stomach widen, threatening to swallow me whole again.

Then, for some reason, I heard my phone ringing. I looked around to see where it was, I would've thought that it would be in the car we used to get here. Kyoya-sempai came up from behind me and put a hand on my shoulder, "I believe this is yours, Rena-chan?" he said smoothly, extending my phone to me. "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" was still ringing loudly when I thanked him with a small smile.

I looked at the Caller ID, it was Elena. "Hello?" I answered, not bothering with speaking German.

"Rena-chan! Hi! I just wanted to check up! How are you? What are you doing?" Elena's chipper voice came from the other end.

"Oh not much," I responded, trying my best to sound bored, "just forced into a car, then into a swimsuit, then into a pool, now I'm drinking some juice, you?" I tried-and failed-to keep the smirk off my face.

"..."

"Elena?" I asked, now slightly worried she had had an aneurism. I heard a deep breath being taken on the other side.

"Let me guess, the Host Club?" she finally asked, trying to sound calm.

"Yep." I replied, popping the "p".

"..Send me a pictures..." she whispered. Now I was slightly concerned. What the heck did she want pictures for? Her scrapbooking hobby? I think I just found a perfect way to mess with her.

I smirked mischievously, "Okay."

I hung up and began plotting.

I made my phone immediately send whatever picture was taken to Elena so she could see them (A/N:I don't know if you can actually do that, I just made it up). I took a picture of my drink, then my feet, then a tree, then a chair. I was about to take a picture of a random bird when I got a text from Elena.

_Stop that! Send me real pictures! I wanna see what you're wearing! And who's with you!_ She texted to me angrily. I smirked again, knowing I had won this round.

_And why should I? _ I taunted her, preparing to take another useless picture.

_I'll tell dad you're walking around half-naked in front of a bunch of flirty boys. :)_ She replied quickly, I could practically hear the devious tone.

_You wouldn't... _I asked hesitantly, trying to calculate the amount of hell dad would raise.

_Try me! _She dared. I decided it was best to not take the chance of dad making me come back home. Lorena: 1 Elena: 1.

They didn't know it, but these guys were drawing me out of my shell little-by-little, making me face emotions I had forgotten I could feel. They were destroying the mask I had crafted so carefully and meticulously that it fooled even the people closest to me. And what surprised me the most, was that I was letting them worm their way into my heart.

_Fine_. I conceded. I just knew Elena was doing a little happy dance now, it didn't matter where she was, she was dancing right now. I looked over to Haruhi who was doing nothing but drinking her juice right now.

"Hey Haruhi, would you take a picture with me? Elena wants me to send real pictures to her now." She chuckled and shook her head at my antics.

"Sure Rena-chan, do you want to stand up for it?" She asked politely. I nodded my head and we both stood up, setting aside our drinks. Kyoya-sempai, who was "conveniently" nearby volunteered to take the picture. I slung an arm around Haruhi's shoulders as she just smiled at the camera. The picture was soon taken and sent to Elena.

"My turn." Kyoya-sempai declared suddenly, handing the phone to Haruhi now. I just stood there like a confused idiot as he stood next to me. Then he did something I wasn't expecting. He wrapped an arm around my waist, and pulled me closer to his side. Our sides were completely pressed up against each other as he just stared blankly at the camera, obviously not bothered by the close proximity. I had no idea why he was doing this, but it was freaky. I just looked at the camera and smiled nervously, scared of the repercussions of me pulling away before the picture was taken.

None too soon was the picture taken, but Kyoya only moved his arm so his hand was resting on the small of my back, just above the end of my shirt. _What is he doing? _I thought to myself.

He waved over the twins for their turns.

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**A/N: Oooooh! What's this? Kyoya being creepy? We'll just have to see... *evil cackling***


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey!~~~ Here you go! Special thanks to Seakitten, XxMonsterUnderYourBedxX, Allora22701, bitternessbitesback, xxxxLakerzxxxx, The Dark Lady55, Eeveemew2, and midnightstorm111 for following and faving!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: Here you go! Enjoy!**

**loopyhutton: Here it is! Enjoy!**

**Savage Kill: Hehehe, we'll just have to see~! As for Honey's plan, you got it! Here it is! Enjoy!**

**Allora22701: Thank you so much! It really means a lot to me! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Only own my OCs!**

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~Takashi's POV~

For the past few minutes, Mitsukuni was trying to get me to admit out loud that I thought Rena-chan was cute in her swimsuit, but was failing. She wasn't cute...she was sexy... Not that I'd ever tell him that.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rena-chan and Haruhi standing up, setting aside their drinks. What were they doing? And dear God, why did Rena-chan have to taunt me with those delicious legs of hers? _Whoa, what? She probably doesn't even like me like that and her I am shamelessly ogling her. _How was it that this girl could make me feel this way? I had to constantly remind myself that she wasn't my girlfriend and I shouldn't do anything rash.

It looked like they were just taking a picture. That was okay, nothing really out-of-the-ordinary.

But then Kyoya had the nerve to demand a picture with Rena-chan too. I was really developing a new-found hate for that guy.

Then he did the worst thing he could possibly do. He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side, like she was _his_ girlfriend. And the worst part...he did it all while looking in my direction. As if challenging me to do something about it. It took a great deal of restraint to not curl up my fist, run over there, and yank my Rena-chan away from him. The picture was finally taken after what seemed like hours-which was really seconds-, but he didn't let her go. Instead, he kept his hand at the small of her back, way too close to the end of her shirt.

Still keeping his hand on her back, he waved over the twins to take a picture with her too. My patience was wearing ever thinner the longer he kept touching her. The twins took forever to get over to them, but when they did, finally Kyoya left Rena-chan and went to stand next to Haruhi.

The twins took a couple dozen pictures with Rena-chan, doing various poses together. At one point, they took the phone from Haruhi and started taking selfies **(A/N: *gasp* the horror! /shot)** together. The twins were finally chased away by Tamaki who had apparently wanted a chance to take pictures with Rena-chan. They were still taking pictures when Kyoya did something worse than hugging her waist. Oh no, this was much worse.

He pushed Tamaki out of the way-who had objected loudly-and took another picture with my Rena-chan. But this one made me snap. He leaned down to her level...and...kissed her cheek. He had taken the picture the moment his lips found her cheeks. And it just kept getting worse. He whispered something into her ear that made her blush...and Rena-chan wasn't one to blush easily.

Nothing mattered to me as I stood up from sitting on the edge of the pool and beginning to walk briskly over to them. Except the one thing I had set in my sights...one Lorena Darrow.

~Back To Lorena~

I was in the middle of taking pictures with Tamaki when he was suddenly pushed away by Kyoya-sempai. Kyoya-once again- wrapped an arm around my waist and took pictures of us together himself. Then, he leaned down-yes I'm shorter than most of the hosts- and KISSED MY CHEEK?! What is up with Kyoya today?! He's never done anything like this before!

Then-freaking me out even more-Kyoya moved to whisper something into my ear-still uncomfortably close. His lips brushed my ear as he whispered, "I must say Rena-chan, you look _ravishing_." When I blushed-for no one had ever said _anything_ like that to me before-he smirked triumphantly. I could feel his hot breath on my neck as he continued, "And I think Mori-sempai feels the same way." Queue mega-blush.

No no no! Kyoya's just trying to get under my skin, teasing me. There's no way Mori-sempai likes me like that...right? No! He doesn't! I'll just end up being humiliated and rejected! I can't feel this way for him! Bottle it up! Push it down! Ignore it!

Then-still being weird-, Kyoya spun me around so I was facing the opposite direction with my back to everyone else.

By now, I had had enough of Kyoya's weirdness for one day. I asked him politely, but strongly, "Kyoya-sempai, what are you doing?" If he gave the wrong answer, I was ready to punch his face in and run away before I was taken hostage or something.

He just smirked at me, "It's not me you should be worried about Rena-chan." I was confused for a second on what he meant, that was, until I felt two strong arms wrap around my waist and sling me over an equally strong and muscular shoulder. I squeaked in surprise.

Looking around, I saw that the others had dispersed, but were still watching us. Kyoya-sempai was still standing in the same place with a triumphant smirk on his face. I glared harshly at him, angry that he had not warned me that Mori-sempai was coming to get me. If anything, he had caused this.

Next thing I know, I'm flying through the air, and land butt-first into the current pool. I almost immediately come back up to the surface only to see that I'm arms reach from Honey-sempai, who was looking very amused. I wiped the chlorinated water out of my eyes and nose and move my blonde hair-now a few shades darker due to being soaked-out of my face.

I looked back to where I was thrown from, but Mori-sempai was walking away already. I really had no idea what went on in his head.

"And I was just beginning to get dry!" I muttered to no body in particular, tugging on my t-shirt that practically fused to my skin-again. Honey-sempai giggled cutely.

He put both of his hands on my head, or more specifically, in my hair. "Rena-chan! Your hair is darker now! But at least it's staying straight, right?" I just grunted in reply.

I was about to lift myself out of the pool when a huge shadow loomed over me. I looked up. Looming over Honey-sempai and me was a huge tidal wave. I scarcely had a second to take in a breath before it crashed down on us.

The force of the impact sent me flying back into the pool and rushing nowhere fast. I opened my eyes for a split second before I closed them again, it hurt too much to open them for a longer time period. But in that second, I found where Honey-sempai was, conveniently arms-length away from me. I grabbed him and clung to him for dear life. I was running out of air, so I somehow managed to get my feet under me and push up from the pool floor that was speeding underneath us.

We surfaced just long enough to get another breath before an undercurrent pulled me down again. I did it again. Another breath. My feet were becoming raw from skidding on the concrete as it flew past us. My right shoulder struck a concrete wall, shooting pain up my arm. Wait, THE WALL!

With my right hand-the left one clutching Honey-sempai so as not to lose him-I attempted to grab what I assumed was the edge of the pool, but I missed. I tried again, and missed again. My hand was becoming raw just like my feet because of skidding on the rough concrete. One more time, I tried to grab the edge, and I got it!

I tried to keep my grip, but the current continued to pull us along for a few more feet. My hand screamed in protest, as if begging me to let go and stop the torture. But I couldn't. I had to get us to safety. Honey-sempai reached his left hand out and grabbed the edge, which effectively stopped us altogether.

I pushed him up onto the land before dragging myself up as well with much help from Honey. I got up, and flipped over onto my back once I was done coughing up any water still in my lungs. I looked at the blue sky and green tree leaves in the canopy. And-for reasons beyond me-I started laughing. It started out as a chuckle, but now it was full on giggling.

"What are you laughing about Rena-chan?" Honey asked me with pure curiosity.

I looked up at him, "That was some crazy shit." was all I replied with.

He looked like he was going to question me further when his eyes widened noticeably and his breath hitched.

Carefully-as if he were afraid of something-he slowly asked me, "Rena-chan, what happened?"

I lifted my right hand up so it was hovering above my face. It was bloody and had dirt all over it, scratched up from being dragged across the concrete. The adrenaline was wearing off and I was just beginning to feel the familiar sting of pain that was just getting worse. "Oh this? Yeah, it got pretty scraped up from trying to hold onto the edge I guess." I replied nonchalantly.

"Not your hand..._that._"

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**Dun dun DUNNNNN~~~~~! *maniac laughter ensues* Cliff hanger! I REGRET NOTHING! *runs away before being injured by angry readers***


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hey everybody! That's right! The update you've all been waiting for! Special thanks to NightHunterDeath, lively-loving, and Time Angel Kiko for following and faving!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: Hahaha! Here you go! *accepts all the sugary goodies* I LOVE SUGAR! Thanks for the review!**

**Savage Kill: *tom hiddleston laugh* Ehehehehe... Maybe. How do you mean broken? Anyways, thanks for reviewing!**

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**caring16: Please don't take any offense, but I couldn't really figure out what you said. You think she has a leech on her? Is that right? And I should build myself a safe house from angry readers? Again, please take no offense. Here it is! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Seakitten: Thanks! I tried to keep him in character as much as possible. Did I succeed? Thanks for the review!**

**: Haha, thanks! Here it is! Thanks for the review!**

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**Wow... that was a lot of reviews! Enjoy everyone!**

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~Honey's POV~

Rena-chan pushed me up onto land first before attempting to pull herself up and out of the water as well. She looked exhausted and like she wasn't going to be able to pull herself up all the way on her own, so naturally I helped. Easily enough, she too was on solid ground. She coughed out any remaining water in her lungs and flipped over onto her back. She just looked at the sky for a minute or two before she started chuckling. Then she started giggling. I half-expected her to say something like, "That was scary!" but she was laughing instead?

"What are you laughing about Rena-chan?"

She looked up at me, having to crane her neck in the process.

"That was some crazy shit." What? Definitely wasn't expecting that.

I was about to question her further when I saw her stomach. My eyes widened in shock and my breath I was going to use for words got stuck in my throat. _That's _why she wore a shirt.

Her stomach was peppered in scars. There were circular ones, skinny ones, fat ones, etc. But the most noticeable and definitely eye-catching one was a scar that went diagonally across her torso. I couldn't be sure exactly where it started because the shirt still hid it from me, but it stretched all the way from her right side, to her left hip, just barely touching the top of her bellybutton. It was pale in comparison to the rest of her skin, meaning it was an old scar. It wasn't completely straight either, it curved upwards subtly.

The scar closest to it looked like they were made from some type of surgery, for what reason was beyond me. The next largest scar I could see was on her left side. It was obviously a burn scar, even older than the first. It looked like it had been a second-degree burn, but what could've caused it?

The next one I noticed was just above her right hip, about three inches in length. It looked like another surgery scar.

The last scar was a small circular scar with a thinner scar cutting straight through the middle of it. A...gunshot wound? What had Lorena been doing over there in America? Why would someone want to shoot Rena-chan? Rage began building up inside of me, I felt Rena-chan was a good friend and just around the corner of being Takashi's girlfriend. That made her family. And no one hurts my family and gets away with it.

I looked back into her eyes, "Rena-chan, what happened?" I asked carefully, not wanting her to draw into herself and close me out. Close us all out.

She lifted her right hand - which I hadn't noticed until now was bleeding - and replied nonchalantly, "Oh this? Yeah, it got pretty scraped up from trying to hold onto the edge I guess."

"Not your hand..._that._" I motioned my head towards her exposed torso. She looked down.

Before I could even blink, she shot up and pulled her shirt back down-though not before I could see that the burn scar on her left side wrapped around her, the tips of a longer part brushing her spine.

"Sorry you had to see that Honey-sempai," she whispered apologetically. "It'spretty disgusting, huh?" She finished, her voice cracking a little at the end. Her head hung low, as if ashamed of it.

I gripped her shoulder and turned her around so she would be facing me, but she wasn't looking at me. Even though she was looking down at the ground, I could see the hopelessness and pain in her eyes.

Without warning, I hugged her. I gripped her as tightly as I did when we were still underwater.

"It's not disgusting, Rena-chan." I said strongly, leaving no room for arguement. I pulled back and made her look me in the eyes. "It just goes to show how strong you are! It shows that no matter what life threw at you, you got through it! You've survived it, everything up to this point, and you're not stopping. It shows that you're not someone to be messed with, 'cause you know what's what! It's not disgusting! It's beautiful! It tells us your story, and how despite it all, you still have the heart to smile and make others smile! Even if it isn't always a real smile?"

I could see her eyes get glassy, though not welling up tears just yet. She chuckled and shook her head, "Thank you Honey-sempai, but...you seem to be the only person to think that way."

"I'm not!" I insisted. "Everyone else will tell you the exact same thing!"

Panic flashed across her face, "You can't tell them Honey-sempai! Please!" She begged.

I hesitated, "Why wouldn't we tell everyone else? Don't you trust us?" Okay, that was a low blow, but she needed to get the ridiculous idea that she was disgusting just because of the bad things that had happened to her out of her head.

"No! I do trust you guys! You wouldn't believe how much I trust you guys! Just..." she looked for the right words, "just... I can't. It's not just a general, 'Oh hey, look at this!' type thing. I mean, it's not something you just bring up casually into a conversation, you know? I trust you guys... I just don't want to talk about it yet. I can't talk a bout it yet. Hey, I'm not even ready to talk about it with my family." I nodded, I understood that it was a very personal thing and not to be taken lightly. I don't know what specifically happened, but it was obviously pretty bad if she couldn't even talk about it with her family. And it wasn't my place to tell them for her her.

She let out a relieved breath and smiled a small smile.

We got up from off the uncomfortable ground and actually looked around.

We were lost.

~Lorena's POV~

We stood up. I couldn't help but think about what Honey had told me. I wanted to believe him, but the words of others still rang in my head, taunting me, beating me down.

_"That's disgusting! Nobody wants to see that!"_

_"Cover up! There are kids here!"_

_"You're disgusting! No one will love you!"_

I was broken out of this viscous cycle of bad memories by Honey-sempai. He was holding my hand and looking up at me. He seemed to be back to normal.

"Let's go try to find the others, okay?" He asked cutely, tilting his head to the side. I managed a weak smile and nodded at him.

He led me by my left hand, my right cradled against my stomach. It was now throbbing, though the bleeding had pretty much stopped. My feet were raw, but not bleeding.

As we walked, Honey was having a one-sided conversation, I occasionally made a noise to tell him I was listening. But I wasn't really. My mind was plagued with doubts and insecurities. Why did Honey-sempai react so differently than what I was used to? And if this was the 'normal' reaction, why hadn't others reacted this way?

"I bet everyone's worried sick about us." He continued, snapping me out of my thoughts-again. He looked back at me slyly, "Especially Takashi."

I scoffed lightly, "Yeah, about you maybe." Though, I couldn't help the involuntary dusting of pink on my cheeks.

"Nah, he wouldn't be that worried about me. But you on the other hand..." He trailed off. My heart beat involuntarily sped up, but I told myself not to get my hopes up. He probably only would worry about me as a friend, yeah, who wouldn't worry about their friend?

I decided not to argue about it any further, but that didn't stop me from shaking my head dissmissively. Unfortunately, he caught it from the corner of his eye.

"I know! Let's do a test! If it's rejection you're afraid of, he won't know it's a test! Whatd'ya say?" He looked at me hopefully.

I looked down at him skeptically, kind of afraid of what he would try to make me do. "What would I have to do?" I asked carefully.

"Just call him Takashi when I tell you to!"

"Say his name?" I questioned, confused. "What would that do? How would I know if he passed this 'test'?"

He snickered, "You'll know if he does, and if he doesn't, he won't know it."

"I don't know Honey-sempai..." I replied hesitantly, not knowing if this really was as good of an idea as he thought it was.

"I'm sure it'll work! You can do it Rena-chan!" He encouraged, looking up at me with doe-eyes.

"Fine.." I conceded. He cheered and jumped up and down a couple times in excitement.

I felt a raindrop on top of my head, then another. Then it began pouring. We ran under a particularly big tree and sat down on a dry patch of ground in a crevice of the big roots, sheilding us from the rain.

I leaned my head back onto the trunk of the tree and sighed. The pain in my hand had gone back down to a dull throb and it felt good to give my hurting feet a rest.

"Rena-chan, do your feet hurt? You should've told me." Honey scolded, just noticing how raw my feet were. I cracked an eye open at him.

"It's okay, it's not like it's bleeding or anything." I retorted, shrugging my shoulders dissmissively.

Honey opened his mouth to say something else when my stomach growled loudly, interrupting him. I lifted my head up and grabbed it with my left hand, sheepishly grinning.

"When was last time you ate today Rena-chan?" He questioned. I thought about it for a minute.

"I had a piece of toast from the landlady this morning."

"Rena-chan!" He whined. "Why didn't you eat lunch? That's not healthy!"

I shrugged, "I just don't feel hungry a lot of the time."

"Stay here." He demanded while standing up. He began climbing the tree. I rolled my eyes. Without needing him to ask, I put my left hand under his right foot and lifted him up as far as my arm could reach while I was sitting down.

"Thanks!" He chirped happily. I could hear him climbing for a couple more minutes when he threw down five bananas for me to catch before climbing back down carefully himself. He sat crosslegged in front of me while I moved my legs off to my right.

He peeled the biggest and best-looking banana before shoving it into my hands and demanding I ate it. I rolled my eyes, but ate it all nevertheless. He too, happily munched on a banana. I ate one more after finishing my first an he ate the other two. Hey, he was a - growing? - young teenage boy who needed a lot of food. And Lord knows how much food he can put away.

When we were finished with the food, the rain finally let up. We both stood up, brushing ourselves off.

"Are you sure your feet are going to be okay Rena-chan?"

I nodded in repsonse, touched at his concern. He grabbed my hand again and led us in a different direction than we were originally going. I decided not to question it, guessing he had seen something while up in the tree.

Around fifteen minutes passed in silence and my feet were really starting to hurt. But it wasn't anything I couldn't handle, so I kept it to myself. Soon enough we stopped, I could hear voices about twenty feet away from us.

A bunch of armed men were surrounding Mori-sempai and Haruhi, ready to fight. One was sent flying into a bush nearby by Mori-sempai.

They all lunged at them.

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**A/N: So? How was it? Worth the wait? **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hi guys! Special thanks go to Anime-Freak-12280, Eveemew2, ballet022, OfTheNight511, and nadia4245 for following and faving!**

**Savage Kill: Oh! I'm so stupid! As to why it hasn't been explained yet, I think it is a more realistic way something like this would go. You know how you read those fanfics that have the OCs telling their whole terrible backstory like the day they met the person/group. I don't think that that is realistic. I mean, if you go through something really horrible and traumatizing like that, you're not just gonna tell people you just met. Sorry if it's annoying, I just think it's a more realistic way it would happen. Thanks for reviewing!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: *accepts chocolate cake* Thanks! Here you go!**

**Time Angel Kiko: Thank you! And yeah, people can be really cruel. Poor Rena-chan. Thanks for the review!**

**caring16: Hahaha, you never know what some people may take offense to these days. AND I LOVE DRAGONS! My mom thinks I'm crazy because of my love of them, but I don't care. I have dragon books, movies, figurines, posters, etc, etc. And don't worry, you can ramble on and on in a review or PM, I'll still read it! Thanks for the review and encouragement!**

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** : Thanks! Here it is!**

**Disclaimer: Only own my OCs!**

**Enjoy!**

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~Lorena's POV~

"Takashi! Haru-chan! Out of the way!" Honey-sempai swung in on a vine while yelling Tarzan style. He kicked one guy in the face, flipped in the air a couple of times, then landed. He then started to flip-over almost all of the soldiers.

Almost.

One soldier decided to go for little ol' me standing in the tree line. I had just taken three steps into the clearing when he grabbed my shoulder roughly. Acting on instinct, I knocked him to the ground and put him in a scissor hold, my calves around his neck and twisting his wrist with my good hand. If he so much as sneezed, he would break his wrist and be choked.

"You guys should be more careful who you mess with, picking on my friends is bad! Got it?" Honey-sempai told the immobilized soldiers.

"Yeah!" I added sarcastically, getting up off the ground and brushing the dirt off of me. The soldier I had had previously in a scissor hold was unconcious. Haruhi was just standing there shell-shocked.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki called, running over to us with the rest of the hosts. "Haruhi, are you all right?!" He hugged her dramatically, "I was so worried." Queue sparkle-fest.

"Oh wow, you okay sempai and Rena-chan?" the twins asked. The twins immediately came over to inspect the casualties-I mean immobilized soldiers. "I'm not sure what happened here but at least they're still alive." Hikaru noted.

"It's pretty amazing that this is Honey-sempai's work, he must have really been holding back." Kaoru finished.

"Hey, what about me?" I complained playfully, crossing my arms. They looked towards me and saw the unconscious soldier behind me. They jumped up.

Next thing I know, I'm in the middle of a Hitachiin hug sandwich as they rubbed their cheeks against mine.

"Yes, we're very proud of your self-control too Rena-chan. We are very happy you didn't kill him!" they both said. I hummed in response.

"Huh? What do you mean they were holding back?" Haruhi asked, pinching Tamaki's hand so he'd let go of her.

"So then," Hikaru started, "you don't know about sempai?" Kaoru finished. "The Haninozukas are famous for their martial arts, not only have they helped train the police and SDF forces, but they've also worked with several overseas militaries." Kaoru explained.

"Honey-sempai in particular has been called the 'Dreadnought' of the Haninozuka family, by the time he was in middle school he'd become the national champion in both karate and judo." Kyoya continued.

"Mori-sempai's no slouch either," piped Tamaki, "he won the national championship in kendo when he was just in middle school."

"What about you, Rena-chan?" Haruhi questioned, clearly 764% done with everything.

"Ah me? Nah, I'm nothing special, my parents just made me take self-defense classes and stuff for years." I explained.

"So how did you manage to find us?" Hikaru asked me and Honey-sempai.

"It wasn't hard. Rena-chan got us out of the current pool, so we decided to look for you guys." he explained innocently, thankfully leaving out the part about my scars like I had asked him to.

I lost interest in the conversation when the soldiers started apologizing and bowing. I looked around, bored. Poor Haruhi-chan looked like she was gonna faint at all of this new information.

"Takashi! You did an amazing job at protecting Haru-chan!" Honey-sempai pat Mori-sempai's head, who had been pulled down to his height so he could. "I bet you were pretty lonely without me around huh?"

"I don't know if I'd say that." was the only reply. Honestly, those two were just so cute sometimes. Honey-sempai giggled.

Now, we were all walking back to get the hell out of here. Well, _they _were walking, I was being carried by Mori-sempai...again. But his time he was carrying me bridal-style. After Honey-sempai had told them that I had hurt my feet and hand and shoulder in the current pool, they all flipped. Except Kyoya, of course. The twins and Tamaki began fussing over me and asking me strange questions. Mori-sempai saved me though, by silently picking me up and carrying me back the way he came.

He was silent the whole time, so I was too.

I could feel the heat in my cheeks as I tried to ignore the firmness of his muscles. Honey-sempai looked very pleased with himself as he walked beside us.

The twins mused about going to the beach next time. _There's gonna be a 'next time'? _I thought dejectedly. Honestly, these guys were gonna be the end of me.

Haruhi agreed that the ocean would be fun, saying that she thought it would be pretty. "What about you, Rena-chan? Would you like to go to the beach next time?" Honey-sempai asked me with a cute tilt to his head.

"Yeah." They seemed pleased with this answer.

* * *

~~~Time Skip Brought To You By A Jealous Mori~~~

I ended up going in the same car/limmo as Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai, seeing as Mori-sempai carried me the whole way there. Mori-sempai had gotten a First-Aid Kit from the driver and was tending to my "wounds". He ignored me when I insisted it wasn't necessary and that I'd had worse. After he was done, he went back into his own personal bubble and just stared out the window.

We sat in relative silence for a few minutes until the driver-a nice elderly man named Hachirou-inquired politely, "Lorena-sama, would you like me to drop you off at your house?"

I smiled gratefully at him, "That would be perfect, thank you Hachirou." I could see the happy twinkle in his eyes as he began driving there. I assumed Honey-sempai or someone had given him my address.

"Are you sure you don't wanna have a sleepover at our house, Rena-chan?" Honey-asked cheerily, hope sparkling in his eyes.

I shook my head. "I'm afraid I can't, Honey-sempai. I have a lot of stuff to do yet at home, and I don't have any spare clothes at your house." Okay, that last excuse was weak, but I really just wanted a really long hot shower, and I didn't want anyone else finding out my secret today. Honey seemed disappointed, but let it drop never the less.

Soon enough, the car pulled up next to the apartment complex I was living at. It was just a bit larger and nicer than the one Haruhi and her father lived in, just a few streets over. My apartment was on the second floor, number 53.

Mori-sempai opened the door and got out. I was about to do the same when Honey-sempai reached over and whispered in my ear, "Rena-chan, do what we talked about earlier in the jungle when you get up there." He was obviously talking about calling Mori-sempai by his first name, Takashi.

"I still don't see how this will prove anything, Honey-sempai." I whispered back quickly, trying not to keep Mori-sempai waiting for me.

"You'll see!"

I rolled my eyes and climbed out of the car as well. Before I could even stand up straight, I was lifted into the air by two strong arms. Mori-sempai was carrying me bridal-style...again.

I sighed loudly, it was really getting annoying. "Mori-sempai! This really isn't necessary! Honestly, I only scratched my feet up a bit, it's not like I broke both of my legs or something." I said exasperatedly, trying to get some sense into his head.

He gave me a blank stare as he began climbing the stairs. I knew I wouldn't win this one, so I let it drop. Besides, he was pretty much at my door already.

Not a minute later, he was standing in front of my door, looking at the normal gold numbers hanging from it. He set me down gently, as if I'd break at the slightest impact or jostle.

I looked up at him so I could see into his eyes. After all, I only reached the middle of his chest. What can I say? He's super tall!

"Thank you for all your help," I hesitated, would Honey's plan really work? "Takashi-sempai." I quickly added, trying to make up for the hesitation and just wanting to get it over with.

His eyes widened just barely noticeably before he swooped down and kissed me. It was a firm kiss, almost desperate. My heart pounded in my chest so hard I thought for sure it was so loud the neighbors could hear it. His right hand cupped my cheek as his left arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer. I had never been kissed before, so I was unsure of what to do. Hesitantly, I kissed back. His lips were warm against mine, it just felt...right.

All too soon, we had to separate due to the demand of oxygen. We were both breathing hard. I was left a blushing mess. And I was pleased to find a pink tint to his cheek as well. He smirked at me, making my stomach flip.

"I like it when you say my name. You caught me off guard this time, but I'll be ready next time." His deep voice sent tingles shooting through my body. "It's a good thing I'm not tired right now." He added as an afterthought, more to himself than to me. I was so confused. What would him being tired have to do with anything?

"Takashi! We got to go home soon if we're gonna be on time for dinner!" Honey-sempai called from below. Takashi-I quite like saying that-just continued to stare into my eyes, as if searching for something.

After a couple more seconds of searching my soul, he straightened up. His hand left my face and his arm from my waist. And as much as I hate to admit it, I missed his warmth.

He smirked at me once more before turning and walking away.

Snapping out of my daze, I pulled my spare key out of a hidden compartment in the wall next to my door and went inside. I leaned back against the door, trying to get my heart beat back to normal.

What was I doing? How had I let him into my heart so easily? I desperately wanted to build my walls again and reinforce them all the more but I knew it was already too late. He had already invaded it. As had the others for that matter.

_This can only end with you getting hurt again. Can you really survive it this time? Knowing how much it took to survive last time? _That obnoxious voice in the back of my head questioned. It was obnoxious because it was right. How could this possibly end well?

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**A/N: So? Good? Big disappointment? Let me know!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey! It's me! Hope you guys have been having a good week my lovelies! Special thanks go to Marlen-sama, The-Gothic-Princess1, Weirdness'P, and WisdomInWords for faving and following!**

**Savage Kill: Yes he is! Thanks for reviewing!**

**NightHunterDeath: Hahaha, she's not, but it's a good idea! Thanks for reviewing!**

**loopyhutton: ^/^ Thank you so much!**

**Guest: Here you go!**

**Little-Angel-02: Haha, here it is!**

**Allora22701: Awww! Thank you so much!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, only own my OCs!**

****Enjoy!****

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the whole fiasco at the pool. Since then, I had gotten slammed with requests for business from other companies who thought it would be easier to negotiate deals with me rather than my father. I either handled it or sent them back to my father. In fact, I had gotten so much work that I couldn't even do my laundry or sleep for more than a couple of hours at night. They apparently didn't care that I was in a different time zone, therefore they would call in the middle of the night and early morning.

In fact, I was so busy that I had not gone over to anyone's house the past two weeks. And as soon as I got into the Host Club, I would sleep until it opened, I'd be swamped with customers, then, once it was over I either had to make a call or got a call and had to leave because of it. Incidentally, this left me with no time to talk to Takashi about the "incident" that had occurred two weeks prior. This also meant the twins were crabby because I had been "ignoring them", causing them to cling to me even more during class. Haruhi-chan had tried to stop them, but it was of no use. There was no stopping them once they got an idea lodged in their heads.

So now, I was at school wearing a white form-fitting shirt, ripped jeans, black converse, and my angel-wings necklace because I had run out of uniforms. My hair was slightly curled, it was now reaching the bottom of my shoulder blades. I was also trying to sleep on one of the Host Club's couches. School had mercifully ended and I had managed to stay awake most of the time. I was awake for two thirds of the classes. Right now, I was early, so not everyone was here yet. Apart from me, only Kyoya-sempai, Tamaki-sempai, and Haruhi-chan were here. I was so tired I feared I would collapse from exhaustion.

I heard foot steps approach me. "Rena-chan, if you want to sleep, you can use the bed Honey-sempai uses for his naps. I'm sure it would be easier to fall asleep there." Tamaki-sempai informed me kindly. I opened my eyes and looked up at him.

"Okay, thanks." Was the only reply from me. I desperately needed sleep. I hadn't slept in 36 hours and I was getting really cranky. I almost ripped the heads off of the twins multiple times, the only thing holding me back was the witnesses. And the paperwork was a bitch.

I flopped onto the small bed with no amount of grace. But I really couldn't find it in myself to care. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep.

~3rd Person POV~

Lorena fell asleep on the couch as Haruhi pulled the thick curtain-like cloth together to keep the light out, showing her motherly-side a bit.

Soon enough, the doors opened and everyone looked, expecting Honey and Mori to come in. But it wasn't them. It was a dog. A pit bull to be exact. He was a big dog, muscular. He was grey with a white belly and snout. He had a scar running over his right eye and the tip of his right ear was missing. He had a thick brown leather collar with a leash attached to it, but no one was holding it. Frankly, he looked frightening.

He sniffed around for a minute, as if searching for something. He sniffed until he stopped at Lorena's book bag, where she left it sitting against the couch she had tried to sleep on earlier. He growled.

By now, Kyoya-sempai and Tamaki-sempai had place themselves in front of Haruhi-chan, fearing the worst.

A young man burst through the doors the fear-inducing dog had just come from. He was tall, though not as tall as Mori. He had dirty blonde hair that was ruffled from running around. He had bright green eyes and was breathing hard, presumably from chasing the dog. He was dressed in simple blue jeans and a black Star Wars t-shirt. He was lean, but muscular.

The dog ripped the Hosts' attention away from the man by running towards the back of the room, growling. And it was heading straight for the sleeping and helpless Rena-chan.

"NO!" Everyone yelled at the same time. They heard a scream and all ran as fast as they could to Rena-chan's rescue. Fear coursed through their veins, hoping above all hopes Rena-chan was okay. Kyoya-sempai was there first.

Kyoya-sempai flung the curtains open with no amount of restraint. What they saw made their blood run cold. Rena-chan was flailing under the dog trying to push it off.

But it wasn't attacking her, it was licking her. All over her face too. Her face was scrunched up, trying to get it to stop.

The mysterious man pushed past them and grabbed the dog's collar with one of his large hands. He was laughing too. "Hahaha - sorry Little Cub - hahahaha - he got out of my grip." He said, not even trying to cover up his laughter.

Lorena's head shot up from wiping the dog slobber off of her face. She looked at him for a split second before jumping up, struggling for a second with the blankets. And... She was smiling, not a usual small smile that never really reached her eyes. Oh no, this was a full on, eyes crinkled, teeth-showing smile full of happiness.

She jumped onto the man as soon as she was free of the blankets. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he spun her around, laughing heartily the whole time.

That was when Mori-sempai and Honey-sempai ran into the room as well. "We heard a screa-!" Honey-sempai yelled worriedly, stopping when he saw the two people still hugging and spinning. When they finally stopped spinning, they could see it was Rena-chan and some mysterious young man.

The man pulled back from the hug, Lorena's legs still wrapped around him. "Missed me Little Cub?" He asked teasingly, mirth sparkling in his eyes. He began walking back to the front of the room, towards a couch, his arms keeping Lorena from falling, one around her mid-section and the other under her thighs. She laughed. And not just a small snicker or chuckle the Hosts were used to, a full-on happy laugh spilling from her still smiling lips.

"Not at all!" She teased back. She went back to hugging him, arms wrapped around his neck. The man sat down on one of the couches on the left side of the room from where Mori and Honey were standing, shocked.

No one but the man heard it, but Lorena whispered into his neck, "Of course I missed you, idiot!"

She pulled back and slid off his lap, now sitting on his left. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders protectively. The dog barked. It had followed them and was now in front of Lorena, trying to get her attention.

"Creature!" She called affectionately, "What are you doing here baby?"

"Well, I came for your birthday of course!" The man replied smugly, obviously knowing she was talking to the dog.

She smacked him on the arm. "Not you stupid! Why did you bring him here? You probably gave everyone who saw him a heart-attack!"

He shrugged nonchalantly, "Eh, I figured he'd sniff you out for me. And he insisted he come when I picked the lock on your apartment door." Lorena just laughed. Another hearty laugh full of happiness the Hosts were not used to at all from her.

Haruhi interrupted them politely, "Ah, Rena-chan, who are they?" She motioned to the man and the dog.

She looked up at her and around at everyone else who had come and stood around the couch, watching silently.

"Oh! Sorry guys! Everyone, this is Michael Graves. Michael, this is Haruhi, Tamaki-sempai, Kyoya-sempai, Hikaru and Kaoru, Honey-sempai, and Takashi. They're my friends." She introduced, pointing to each in turn. He nodded and waved to them. Takashi tried very hard not to glare at the intruder, very jealous that he had dared be so close to his Lorena and _carry her. _Only he got to do that. No one else.

"Rena-chan, you're going to have a birthday soon?" Honey-sempai asked, excited at the prospect of birthday cake.

"Yeah, I am Honey-sempai, tomorrow in fact." Lorena answered sweetly. "But I'm not going to celebrate it." She glared at Michael for the last bit.

He ruffled her hair the way an older brother would, "Of course you are Little Cub! You only turn 16 once after all! You wouldn't come back to America, so I came to you!"

"No I'm not!" Lorena argued. "What about you huh?" She started, a teasing tone to her voice, "You only turn fifty once after all." She mimicked him.

"Hey! I'm not _that _old! I'm only nineteen!" Michael complained. Lorena hummed in disbelief. "I'll show you who's old!" He said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He tackled her to the floor, wrestling with her for a minute until he got her flat on her back, him on top of her, face-up. He just laid there, despite her trying to push him off. He made no move to get up.

"Good Lord, what do they feed you in the army?! You weigh a ton!" She cried out, straining her voice purposely, making it sound as if he was heavier than he really was, pushing on his shoulder blades to try and get him off of her.

"We'll save you Rena-chan!" The twins declared at the same time, sliding her out from under Michael by her arms and placing her on her feet. She brushed invisible dirt off of her jeans and fixed her white shirt.

"Did you curl your hair?" Michael asked, still lying on the floor.

"Maybe, what's it to you?!"

"I like it." Michael replied, smiling up at her. She grinned back.

"Whatever you say," she started, "old man!" She added quickly. When he started to scramble up to his feet, determined to catch her again, she squeaked. She ran around the couch and hid behind Takashi. Michael chased her around the couch and stopped at the other side of the large Host.

Lorena hung onto the back of Takashi's jacket and stuck her tongue out at Michael. Takashi looked at her quizzically under his arm.

Kyoya interrupted the madness by clearing his throat loudly. "Excuse me, but I believe it's opening time." As soon as he said that, the doors opened and the customers spilled in, going to the couches of their choice.

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**A/N: So? Who do you think Michael is to Lorena? Please excuse any spelling and/or grammatical errors. I tried to put in link for the outfit she's wearing I have on Ployvore, but it wouldn't work. Does anybody know how to get it to properly link to it? Is there something specific you have to do? **


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hey guys! It's me again! I'm sorry to say this, but I'm not going to be able to update on a regular basis for these next few weeks. School is ending and teachers are cramming projects and tests and essays in these last three weeks or so, and then there's finals. School is taking a lot of my time right now and I really need to focus on it. Please don't be mad! I'll try to update when I can, jus be warned it may not be on the schedule I have been updating. So, as an apology, I'm giving you this chapter early! Special thanks go to bethatmadcat, Amari Mizuki, antaurilover685, ADTRcookie, IdealNobody19, and FabFiction15 for following and faving!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: Here it is! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Savage Kill: Very intuitive of you... Thanks for the review!**

**NightHunterDeath: Here it is! Thanks for the review!**

**loopyhutton: Thanks!**

**Allora22701: No, Lorena is my OC. What charcter from Fairy Tail is she like? Anyways, here it is! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs!**

**Again, thank you guys for understanding. Please don't be too mad at me! Like I said before, I'll try to update when I can! Enjoy!**

* * *

~3rd Person POV~

"Rena-chan! Come sit with us this time, 'kay?" Honey-sempai asked, already pulling her towards the couch. Takashi, Creature, and Michael followed.

Honey made Lorena sit on a two-person couch and Takashi sat next to her, having gotten there first. This made Michael sit across from Lorena in an arm chair, resting his head on his fist. Honey sat on Mori's lap as girls came over and sat down in the remaining seats available. Luckily, there was enough space for all of them.

"Oh! I'll get the cake everybody!" Honey exclaimed as he hopped up and bounded away towards the kitchen area. He made sure to have Lorena promise to take care of Usa-chan while he was gone. She held Usa-chan on her lap.

A couple of minutes later, Honey came back pushing a cart that was piled with cakes of all flavors. "I'm back!"

This time, he sat on Lorena's lap as he passed out pieces of cake to everyone who wanted one.

"Michael, do you want a piece?" Lorena asked Michael, holding out a piece of vanilla cake to him.

He shrugged, "Sure, why not?" He took the cake and began to slowly eat it.

"R-R-Rena-chan," a shaky voice stuttered, "is that your d-d-d-dog?"

Lorena looked at the petite brunette who asked the question, who had a look of pure terror on her face as she looked at the dog who had laid at Lorena's feet.

"Yep!" Lorena chirped. "His name's Creature, I know he looks scary, but he's really just a big teddy bear. He wouldn't hurt a fly!" She scratched Creature's head as he wagged his little tail happily.

He sniffed around his area without having to actually get up, and he stopped at Lorena's bag, growling at it again.

The girls around the table scooted away from him quickly in fear.

"What's wrong Creature? What is it?" Lorena asked the dog, reaching for her bag. She picked up her bag and started to rummage through it, trying to find the thing upsetting Creature.

"Oh..." Lorena smiled knowingly. "Is this what you smell buddy?" She held up a small pink scarf with tassels on the end. Michael almost choked on his cake.

"Isn't that your stepmother's scarf?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah, it's Theresa's." Lorena replied with a bored look on her face.

"Why on earth do you have that thing?" Michael asked.

"In case I need to wipe some mud off my shoes or something." Lorena answered, shrugging. Michael just busted out laughing.

The rest of the time in the Host Club was relatively uneventful for Lorena.

She got questions like, "Will you listen to this song and tell me what you think, Rena-chan?" "Will you help me with my math, Rena-chan?" "I absolutely love those pictures of you and Mori-sempai at the pool Rena-chan!"

"Whoa, hold up! What pictures?" Lorena asked, looking at Takashi to see if he knew anything about it, which he didn't.

"Yeah! I have one as my screensaver on my phone, it was just sooo~~ cute!" The girl rambled on, oblivious to Lorena's growing distress and confusion. She pulled out her phone and handed it to Lorena. It was a picture that showed her standing next to Takashi, looking around. It was from the very beginning of the whole time they spent there. Lorena was in her swimsuit and t-shirt while Takashi was in his swimming trunks. Takashi also looked at the picture, curious as to what it was.

Lorena dropped her head into her hands when Michael asked, "What picture? Let me see! Ooh, what's this I see? A t-shirt?! And it's not mine!" He gasped in fake hurt, "The tradition has been ruined!" Then he began to laugh at Lorena's reaction of just giving up, not even trying to resist his weirdness.

"Um, Rena-chan, who is he? Your boyfriend?" The same girl asked as she took back her phone.

Lorena's face paled, she looked at Michael. He had a serious look on his face for quite likely the first time since he had gotten there. "Well, I guess they were going to figure it out sometime Little Cub." Michael shrugged, giving up the game of charades.

Honey-sempai was internally screaming, his master plan for Rena-chan and Takashi to get together was ruined! Poor Takashi!

Lorena put her face in one of her hands, leaning on the arm rest as her shoulder shook, facing away from everyone else.

"Rena-chan?" Honey-sempai asked worriedly, ready to give her a big comforting hug.

A giggle escaped her lips, then a chuckle, then it was full-blown, side-splitting, tears-in-your-eyes laughter. She just couldn't hold it in any longer. Michael joined in on the laughter.

In between fits of laughter, Lorena was able to choke out, "You think he's my boyfriend? Please, he's practically my brother!" Takashi was very relieved to hear that. If he had been Lorena's boyfriend, he would've been livid.

Honey-sempai was also relieved. Takashi didn't get hurt and his plans didn't go to waste! Perfect!

Not soon enough for Lorena, the Host Club ended and all the customers left. As soon as they did, Lorena marched right over to Kyoya to "ask" him about the pictures he had sold, Michael following along.

Lorena came up to him and cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Is there something I could do for you Lorena?" Kyoya inquired, smirking at the hint of annoyance in her eyes.

"You know very well what you can help me with. Help me understand how and why you sold pictures of me in my bathing suit to customers." Lorena demanded, crossing her arms across her chest.

Kyoya smiled like the money-loving person he is and snapped his notebook shut. "For profit of course. And I sent the pictures from your phone to mine."

"Which ones?" She asked in a tense voice, restraining herself from smacking his stupid grin from his face.

"All of them." He replied nonchalantly. He went back to writing in his notebook, apparently done with the conversation.

"Wait a minute, the pictures Elena sent me? Is that what you're talking about?" Michael questioned Lorena, already putting the pieces together.

"Yes." Lorena sighed, slowly walking back to the couch they previously were at while massaging her temples, trying to dispel the looming headache that had taken residence in her brain for the past three days.

When she looked up to see what everyone else was doing, she saw Haruhi was at a table to the side studying some books. Hikaru and Kaoru were wheeling in many mannequins with bathing suits on them, placing them in the center of the room. _What is going on?_ Lorena thought to herself.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: *peeks out from protective armor* Heh... Hi guys... Long time no see, eh? I'M SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE! Things got crazy at school and, I'll be honest, I was lazy and procrastinating. Please don't kill me? But now, school's over! Hopefully I will have plenty of time to write again! Thank you guys so much for being really understanding and patient with me. Special thanks go to Zstar1, jazica, candoteen1, Callypso, NeverAlone3665, Rosenia, the pandypandas, Aradite, BeforexImxDead, Alice9496, and 2 for following and favoriting my story!**

**Zstar1: Here you go! Sorry it took so long!**

**loopyhutton: *blushes* Well, thank you my dear. You're so nice!**

**NightHunterDeath: Yes!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: Here it is! Sorry again it took so long!**

**Guest(reviewed on chapter 6): Awww! Thank you so much! I'm so happy you feel that way, and I'm glad you caught those references!**

**AHoboNamedDruggy: Hahaha, thank you so much for understanding. And it wasn't harsh to me, thanks for your patience!**

**Allora22701: Haha, here it is!**

**the pandypandas: Thanks!**

**Just so you guys know, I think I'll need a few days to get back into the rhythm of writing again, I doubt it will affect the next update, but just be warned! Thanks again everyone, I hope this chapter won't disappoint!**

**Disclaimer: I think we all got the picture here, I only own my OCs.**

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"The beach?" Haruhi questioned.

"Of course! The beach!" the twins exclaimed simultaneously.

"But why?" Haruhi questioned again, pausing from doing her homework and looking up from her stack of books.

"Don't you remember what you said?" Hikaru started.

"You said you'd like to go to a real beach!" Kaoru finished.

"Did I say that?"

"Yes Haruhi!" the twins droned. They displayed the many swimsuits they had set up on mannequins to her. "Here's the fun part! We brought some swimsuits for you to choose from, pretty cute don't ya think?"

Honey bounded over with excitement. "Not that one! I think this swimsuit would look much cuter on Haru-chan!" He exclaimed, holding up a mannequin with a blue one-piece swimsuit on it. The proverbial pink flowers floating around his head as he said this.

The twins chided, "I don't think you get it, Honey-sempai. Just look, this uniform barely hides the fact that Haruhi's as flat as a cutting board. A one-piece suit like that would only upset her because it draws attention to her lacking feminine physique! That's why we carefully selected this two-piece suit, see? The ruffles help hide the fact that she's so flat chested!"

Lorena pulled Haruhi away from the two devils and stroked her hair in a motherly manner. "Don't listen to them Haruhi, they're just stupid boys who don't know anything." She nodded in agreement.

"Now Rena-chan is a different story," Hikaru started again, pulling her away from Haruhi.

"She's plenty developed in her feminine physique, she could easily pull off a one-piece." Kaoru continued.

"Can you not?" Lorena asked the twins, though her question was ignored.

"Although, I think we'd all agree she'd be much cuter in a two-piece suit." They said together, revealing a dark green bikini with a small black flower design on it.

"No." was all Lorena had to say on the matter.

Tamaki swooped to the rescue, knocking the twins away with a baseball bat, as if he had hit a home run, "You punks had better stop sexually harassing my little girls! I've had enough of you!"

They hid behind the table Haruhi was at previously, "That means, we're not going to the beach?"

"Who said that we're not going?" Tamaki replied, putting the baseball bat he used to knock them away on his shoulder.

"Really? So you wanna go after all?" They asked hopefully.

"Can Usa-chan come too?" Honey asked cutely, still holding the mannequin from before.

"I have no problem with that." Kyoya interjected.

"Huh? We're really gonna go?" Haruhi and Lorena asked at the same time.

Tamaki looked at them, "Why not? Let's go to the beach!"

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~Time skip brought to you by the TARDIS~

The next day was a Saturday, it was the day the Host Club decided to go to the beach, and it also happened to be Lorena's birthday. Usually, on a person's birthday, they're excited and happy because they are gonna get presents and food and make happy memories with loved ones. But not Lorena.

At the moment, Lorena was not being at all cooperative with Michael. "Come on Lorena, you have to get up! Your friends are going to be here soon to pick us up to go to the beach! I've already packed our bags and breakfast for you, all you have to do is get up! You know they're not gonna leave without you!" But it was useless. Lorena was too far in a state of depression that she couldn't find the will or energy to get out of bed or to get dressed.

Michael sighed. "Look, if you don't wanna change, fine. But I know you're gonna want to put on a shirt or hoodie over your tank top when we leave. You know if you don't come down there yourself, they're just gonna come up here to get you, right? I'm figuring you don't want them to see you like this..." She stuck a hand out of her burrow of covers. He handed her a big pull-over hoodie that used to be his in his first year of college. She pulled it over herself and slowly, but surely, made her way out of bed. She pulled the hood up and just sat at the edge, staring at the wall and covering her face with her hands that were covered by the hoodie sleeves. It was at least three sizes too big for her.

He knew that that was as far as she would be able to make herself go and walked around to her. He wrapped his arms around her torso and lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist and buried her face in the crook of his neck. He could feel the tears she was silently crying, her shoulders barely shaking from the sobs. But it wasn't because she wasn't crying hard, it was the learned behavior of hiding the tears and pain.

This was one of those moment when it really struck Michael how much she trusted him. She never cried in front of anybody, even when she was the one with the most reason to. She never showed how much pain she actually was in to anybody. But she was crying in front of him. On his shoulder. Seeking comfort from _him_. This very fact made him want to cry, but she needed him right now, and by the Grace of God he wasn't going to fail her.

He rubbed her back in small circles, mumbling that everything was going to be okay and that he was here and she wasn't alone in her ear. When she finally stopped crying, he began to move towards the front area of her apartment.

Since the hosts weren't going to arrive until about half an hour later, Michael slid Lorena onto the countertop next to her sink. He then made a bowl of cereal for Lorena, hoping to convince her to eat something now, since she most likely wouldn't want to later. He held out the bowl to her, but she stubbornly shook her head, refusing it. He sighed, then an idea came into his mind.

He took a spoonful of cereal and moved it around as if it were a plane coming in to land, even making the engine noises. "Here comes the airplane Lorena, get ready!" She looked at him indignantly. "It's gonna crash!" He prodded. Reluctantly, she opened her mouth, allowing him to spoon-feed her. When she tried to take the spoon and bowl away from Michael, he held it out of her reach, "Uh uh, you had your chance, now I get to feed you like a baby." She wasn't happy about it, but she knew there would be no point to trying to change his mind.

Lorena ate about half of the bowl when she refused to eat another bite. Michael tried to get her to keep eating, but she just buried her face in her legs that she had drawn up to her chest on the counters. Knowing he was fortunate to get her to eat even that much, he ate the rest himself and put the dishes in the sink.

Just then, they heard a car honk from the front of the apartment building. The Host Club was here. Slinging their bags over his shoulder, Michael picked Lorena up again and made his way out of the apartment. Careful about the added weight of Lorena, he managed to lock the door and get down the steps and to the car. The only reason he could do all of this and hold Lorena was because if the army. Even if he was just an army doctor.

Takashi and Haruhi got out of the limmo to help with the bags when they saw Lorena was clinging onto Michael again. Takashi was jealous of how close they seemed to be, but that jealousy disappeared when he saw that Lorena wasn't herself. She wasn't just hitchin' a ride on Michael, she wouldn't even look up. Her face was buried in his shoulder. He also noticed she seemed to still be in her pajamas. She was wearing black shorts and a pull-over hoodie that was three sizes too big for her.

Michael made to pass Lorena over to Takashi, telling him, "She'll like you better than she likes me right now." When Michael passed her over-like you would a child Honey's size-Haruhi caught a glimpse of Lorena's face. And what she saw stunned her. Haruhi saw immense pain and sorrow in Lorena's eyes. Her expression was blank, but her eyes said it all. Haruhi had only experienced pain similar to that once, when her mother died. What could have caused Lorena to have these feelings? Had something happened? She wanted to ask, but she knew that now was not the time nor place. And she didn't want to pry into her life, she just wanted to help.

Lorena immediately wrapped her legs around Takashi's waist and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Meanwhile, Michael put their bags in the trunk with the others'.

Takashi-very carefully-managed to climb back into the limmo without letting go of Lorena. He was followed by Haruhi and Michael. The rest of the hosts looked quizzically at Lorena's back, who was now sitting on-also called straddling-Takashi because she refused to move. Michael gestured wildly with his hands for them not to ask, they complied, obviously seeing that whatever the situation was, it needed to be handled carefully. Although, Kyoya did not miss this chance to snap a few pictures to possibly receive a profit from later.

The limmo started again, and they were on their way to the beach.

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**A/N: So? Was it disappointing? Let me know! Have a lovely week, beautiful readers everywhere! **


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hello again! I know this one is a day late, but it's a bit longer to make up for it! Getting back into the rhythm of writing is harder than I thought it would be! Well...it's really me procrastinating. But anyways, special thanks go to lisagrrrrr, RM Kox, Meilong101, DreamyFlower, Anime-epic, Lucky264, SoraLover987142, Bluu-Vorel, imjaysong, Challie B, Gottaloveastory, nhiai93, TheOnyxSnake, and Zorua1 for following and faving!**

**Zstar1: Haha, yeah. Here you go!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: Thanks! The reason she was depressed and stuff will be revealed in the next few chapters (not sure which specific one yet). Here you go!**

**loopyhutton: Thanks!**

**RM Kox: Thanks!**

**: Thank you so much! You're too nice! Here you go!**

**Lucky264: *hands you a box of tissues* I'm honored you think that way, thank you!**

**imjaysong: Thanks! Yeah...poor Lorena...**

**Gottaloveastory: *Tom Hiddleston laugh* What can I say? They're fun to write! Thanks so much! And don't worry, I don't plan to stop updating!**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, still broke..**

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As soon as the car started moving again, the twins started to harass Haruhi, purposely making Tamaki irritated. Kyoya went back to writing whatever he writes in his notebook and Honey played with Usa-chan quietly. Michael's phone began vibrating, so he answered it.

"Hello," he greeted. The Hosts politely quieted down, but didn't stop their previous activities. They only were able to hear Michael's side of the conversation. "Oh, hey babe, what's up? ... Yeah I'm with Lorena right now in Japan. It's her birthday, remember?... Haha, of course you did, weirdo... Actually, we're going to the beach with her friends from school... Eh, she's okay, not very talkative right now though. But you can give it a shot. Wanna talk to her?... Okay."

He tapped Lorena on the shoulder and handed her the phone. She looked at the caller ID and put it up to her ear. "Hey Nate... Thanks man... You didn't have to do that... I'm okay, you?... That's good... Don't worry, if he doesn't leave soon, I'll knock him out and ship him back to you in a crate... Hmm?... Not yet, but I'm not looking forward to it... I have to answer them and listen the whole time or they'll make me move back to America... Yeah...Okay, bye." She handed the phone back to Michael and went back to playing with Mori's hair.

Michael quickly ended the phone call and the twins and Tamaki went back to being their normal noisy selves. Lorena began to turn around in Mori's lap. She had finally been able to pull herself together and craft a sort of emotional mask for both the benefit of herself and her friends. It wasn't as finely crafted as the one she normally wore, but it was just enough to fool the others into thinking everything was okay. After all, there was no need to burden them with her problems. It was her birthday, and birthdays are happy days right? So, with all her might, she would appear that way. Happy. Even if on the inside her heart and soul was torn to shreds. Her friends and family were happy, and that's all she needed. She too would be happy if they were happy. That is, so she convinced herself to believe.

When she went to move into her own seat, she was stopped by Takashi's arms that had not left her waist...and they made no move to release her. She tilted her head up at him with a questioning look. He looked back with an eyebrow raised challengingly. She just sighed and turned back around, it seemed that she would be sitting in his lap the whole way there. Michael handed her her phone back with a shit-eating grin on his face, which she just narrowed her eyes suspiciously at. She motioned that she was watching him before putting the passcode into her phone and looking at her messages.

She had received many formal congratulations in emails from her father's business partners and other companies they had traded with. There were a couple from other rich boys who only wanted her money. In her text message inbox, she had some 'Happy Birthday's from aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc. Elena had texted her, emailed her, called her, and sent her presents via mail. She had yet to hear from her stepmother or father. She hoped she wouldn't get that dreaded phone call for a couple hours yet.

Lorena looked up from her phone to ask Michael a question, but before she could even open her mouth, Michael answered her, "Yes I brought your package from Elena, it's in your bag in the trunk. I figured you could open it with your other presents."

"Other presents? What other presents?" Lorena asked, putting her phone in her lap.

"The presents from us of course!" Tamaki exclaimed excitedly, temporarily suspending his angry rant at the twins. They...got me gifts? Lorena thought.

* * *

**~Time Skip from your favorite trench-coated angel~**

Lorena braced her feet as best she could on the tiled floor, her shoulder pressed up against the door. Fear coursed through her, the cause on the other side of the door trying desperately to get in. Well...two things. Presently, the twins were trying their hardest to get into the bathroom that Lorena had gone into to change into her swimsuit. Her swimsuit. Not the one they had picked specially for her. One look at the pink and red bikini they held up, she had made a mad dash to her bag and into the bathroom. She was unfortunately not fast enough to do all that and get the door closed and locked. Inch by inch, the twins' combined strength was pushing her back on the smooth tile.

Knowing this, Lorena's mind raced to find an escape route. The air ducts were too small for her. No one was close enough to hear a call for help. And the bathroom had only one door. Figuring she had nothing to lose, she tightened her grip on her bag and quickly stepped out of the way of the door. The twins-who had been pushing on the door with all their strength before-came flying into the room. Without a second's hesitation, Lorena ran out through the now vacant door, searching for someone to help her.

She was at the end of the hall when she heard two sets of footsteps thundering after her. "Stop running Rena-chan! You're just making it worse on yourself!~" They chanted eerily. This only made her run that much faster. Lorena skidded around the corner and slammed right into Kyoya who was just crossing through to another hallway when he had been disturbed. With the force of the hit-Lorena had been running pretty fast-Kyoya was sent to the floor. But before he could fall to far, Lorena grasped his arms and pulled him back up.

"Kyoya-sempai, you have to help me!" she pleaded, moving behind him, away from the twins. he had seemed to have lost them for the moment, but they would surely find her again soon.

Kyoya turned around to face her, pushing his glasses up his nose in the process. "Why would you need help from me Rena-chan?"

He received his answer when the twins called out, "Where are you Rena-chan?~ You can't hide from us!~" They still sounded like psychotic serial killers. They sounded close, like they were just in the next hallway over.

"Ah, yes. They do sound quite intimidating." Kyoya observed calmly, looking down at Lorena. Lorena was still clutching her bag to her chest, if needed, it would be a useful weapon against the twins.

"Intimidating?!" she squeaked incredulously. Noticing the higher pitch in her voice, Lorena cleared her throat and continued in a normal voice, "They sound deranged! And they are dead set on getting me in this horrid little pink and red swimsuit!" Before she could ask again for his help, the doors at the other end of the hallway were flung open violently, revealing the huffing and puffing twins. They started to run towards Lorena-who was turning to run as well when she was stopped by Kyoya grabbing her arm-when Kyoya's glasses flashed threateningly.

The twins skidded to a halt in front of Kyoya, Lorena behind him. She decided it would be safer behind Kyoya and watch under his arm. "Hikaru, Kaoru, don't you two have something more productive to do than to terrorize Rena-chan? For instance, helping setting things up on the beach? Our customers will be here soon and it would be highly unprofessional for us to not be ready by the time they arrive."

"But Kyoya!" they whined, holding up the swimsuit they wanted to force Loren to wear. "We want Rena-chan to wear this! Don't you think she'd look adorable in it?!"

Kyoya sighed harshly, "My personal preferences are not important to the matter at hand. You two can't even give Rena-chan a break on her birthday?"

Now it was Hikaru's turn to huff. Reluctantly, they stalked off to get into their own swimsuits and get the place ready for the customers. Immense relief washed over Lorena as she watched them leave, she sighed. Kyoya turned around. "Satisfied?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lorena flung her arms around Kyoya and hugged him firmly. "Thank you so much Kyoya-sempai, you saved me from a fate worse than death!"

He looked down at her, though she couldn't see him, his eyes had traveled up his forehead in surprise at the sudden actions from the girl. "I highly doubt that," he stated, covering his shock. He continued, "but, nonetheless, you're welcome." He pet her hair, and she allowed it, just this once.

Unknown to the two of them, two honey colored eyes twinkled with mischief from behind the door at the end of the hallway. For sure, this would get Takashi to make a move. He giggled and slipped away to tell his towering friend, bouncing down the hall with Usa-chan swinging from his hand and a plan forming in his mind. The perfect plan.

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**A/N: Mwahahahah! Honey is still scheming! Tell me what you guys think! **


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: He he, it's mee... *avoids multiple sharp objects* I know I know! But, I went on a church trip that banned any electronics so I couldn't write or update for a whole week, then I had to deal with the second degree burns I got from that trip which was a pain. I know what you're thinking, "Excuses excuses". But! This chapter is a bit longer than normal as an apology! And 70 REVIEWS?! You guys are so AWESOME! *faint sound of Prussia laughing in the distance* Special thanks go to Freed0m2a11, AngelInTheSky26, WickedLove01, DanyShake, KazuTakahashi, Rose527, Ninja Cucumbers, FiftyLyricsInAMiracle, Sweet baba, 6jayc6, KarutaPlayer96, lek99, 15samcre, kadeestephens, FrankSinatra24, sharksandsoccer, and Infinity69 for following and faving!**

**NightHunterDeath: Here you go! Sorry it took so long!**

**KazuTakahashi(reviewed on chapter 4): Thank you so much! You're so nice!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: Here you go! Again, sorry it took so long!**

**Gottaloveastory: Yep! (Supernatural references everywhere~~~!)**

**Zstar1: Haha, here it is! Sorry it took so long!**

**Disclaimer: I no own Ouran. :)**

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Lorena stood there, just looking out at the beautiful blue ocean, the hot sand burning her feet. She saw Tamaki sitting on a rock with a customer, the twins were playing volleyball with some girls when they started to chase each other, and Haruhi was sitting under an umbrella on a beach towel. She had pulled her legs up to her chest and looked like she was questioning her life choices. Michael was off talking to some girls and the rest of the Host Club was doing God knows what. Lorena decided to join Haruhi under the umbrella, she had no intention to swim or do anything. She really just wanted to curl up in bed and die, but the world was not so merciful.

"Hey Haruhi." Lorena greeted, sitting down under the umbrella with her.

"Hey Rena-chan, enjoying your birthday?" Haruhi inquired, giving her full attention to Lorena. Lorena just shrugged and made a 'Meh' sound. Haruhi was wearing a blue shirt and a pair of tan cargo shorts while Lorena was wearing the same swimsuit from the water park and a gray shirt that had the 'Hogwarts' logo on it that was two sizes too big for her. Haruhi just assumed it was Michael's. They sat in a comfortable silence, just enjoying the peace while they could. Mori and Honey were nearby doing something, they honestly couldn't figure out what. The best thing they could come up with was stretching, but it was the weirdest stretching they've seen.

"Why are we doing Host Club activities at the beach?" Haruhi questioned, not really expecting an answer from anyone.

They heard a feminine voice from behind them, "Haruhi-kun? Rena-chan?" They turned around to find three brunette girls standing behind them. One was wearing a white bikini, another was wearing a blue bikini with a skirt over her bottoms, and the last one was wearing an orange bikini. "Aren't you going to go swimming with us?"

"No, I like looking at the sea from a safe distance." Haruhi answered politely.

"Well if you're not going to swim would you mind if we sat here and talked with you?" The second girl stated, her voice was grating in Lorena's opinion.

"But why? You girls should go swim, you've got cute swimsuits on, why not go show them off?" The girls swooned. They had hearts revolving around their heads as they blushed. They eventually wandered off to go swim, leaving the two girls alone once again.

Lorena chuckled at Haruhi, "Haruhi-kun you sly dog, stealing everyone's hearts."

"What?" Haruhi was genuinely confused.

"I'm just teasing." Lorena explained, playfully pushing Haruhi's arm.

About 40 feet away, Michael was having a very interesting conversation with a group of girls. "So, you're gay, Michael-san?" a pretty red head asked.

"Bi actually, I currently have a boyfriend if that's what you mean." He replied, internally worrying about whether or not it was a good idea to tell them, though it's not like it was a secret.

"Oh..." The same girl trailed off, thinking for a second before all of the girls chorused, "Is he handsome?"

Michael laughed, this was definitely not the usual reaction he would get back in 'Murica. "Yes, he is very handsome."

"That's sooo sweet! ~" they sang with blushes on their faces.

"Um, Michael-san, how did you meet Rena-chan?" a timid brunette stuttered, she quickly added, "Oh! That is, if you don't mind telling us, it's okay if you don't want to..."

He rubbed his chin, carefully selecting his words, "Well, I can't really tell you the whole story without Lorena's agreement..." The girls looked down in disappointment. "But," they lifted their heads, "I can tell you part of it." They brightened up at this and gave the man before them their full attention.

"At the time, I was working as a part-time nurse temp in a hospital in LA. I wasn't finished with school yet, so I didn't have the qualifications to be an army doctor. Anyways, I was working like normal when I was assigned the care of a particularly uncooperative patient. She had come in just a few days prior and refused to eat or sleep or take her medications or even talk. Thinking I was up to the challenge, I accepted. Usually you don't get a choice to take care of a person or not, but this one was different considering nobody wanted to take care of her. I can't tell you why she was in the hospital or why she was so uncooperative, just that she changed my life, and I'd like to think I changed hers. As you've probably guessed by now, that uncooperative patient was Lorena Darrow."

* * *

~Flashback Time!~

A young man with bright green eyes and dirty blonde hair watched the TV screen with a look of disgust and horror painted across his face.

"Police are still investigating the mall shooting that occurred yesterday, around noon. 4 dead and 12 injured, the city has been shaken by this horrible ordeal. A memorial has been made at the west side of the mall, honoring those who died, and those who were left behind to mourn them."

The young man shook his head, thinking, "How can someone be so twisted as to do something so horrible? And the fact that the reporters aren't even surprised by this is disgusting." He walked down the hallway to the room that housed the person he was supposed to take care of.

The fake-wood door creaked open, filling the previously dead-silent room with noise. A young Michael Graves walked into the room, looking down at the cheap clipboard in his hands. "All-righty Lorena Darrow, how are you feeli-" His sentence cut off when he looked up at the patient lying in the hospital bed, various wires and tubes connected to her arms and torso, a monitor beeping off to the side indicating her steady heartbeat.

The first thing he noticed was the standard hospital restraints tying down her arms and legs. They were usually only used on the particularly violent patients in the psych ward.

The second thing he noticed was her age. She was just a little girl. He looked down at the clipboard again, sure enough, it read, "Age: 13 years old." He was only three years older than her. Damn.

The third thing he noticed were her eyes. They were blank and lifeless. Yet, they were also overflowing with sorrow and agony, as if the sun itself had been ripped from her world and there was no light left. No hope. However, the laughing lines on her face gave away that they had not always been this way. The pure blue of her eyes contrasted perfectly with her blonde hair.

The fourth and final thing he noticed were her wrists. She was tugging at the restraints, already they had been rubbed raw. "Hey stop! You're hurting yourself!" He exclaimed, immediately holding down her wrists to prevent her from continuing. She turned her eyes to him. She said nothing, just stared him straight in the face. It was pretty creepy. After another minute or so of the unnerving staring contest, she turned her head back to where she was looking before. Michael also looked where she was looking. On the windowsill sat an old stuffed leopard. It was well worn, the obvious use showed the most in the patch sewn on the side of it and the sloppy reattachment of the right ear.

Over time, Michael gained the trust of little Lorena, bestowing upon her the nick-name "Little Cub." She wouldn't talk to him, or anyone else for that matter. Not her father, her sister, or her step-mother-which be quickly found out were very rich; considering her father owned the biggest car company in North America. She barely ate, which was seriously stinting her health and recovery, and when she slept she always woke up crying. In order to communicate with her, Michael was asked by her father to convince her to take ASL (American Sign Language) lessons. He did, but she would not cooperate with the tutor unless he was there, so he learned it with her.

Once she was able to return home-something she was very reluctant to do-Michael practically moved in with them. He was the only one who could convince her to eat or sleep, the only one who could communicate with her easily, and he was the only one she opened up to. She told him through sign language all about her life and what had happened to her to get her into the hospital. In return, he told her about how he was an only child, growing up in a home with only his mother. His father had died on the battlefield, fighting for this country's freedom. He told her about the fight he got in at school when he saw some jerk harassing some poor kid. They told each other everything, and soon enough Michael was her best friend. He helped her through the next two years, recovering from the severe loss she had suffered.

One day, while the two were sitting outside and remarking on the shapes of the clouds, Michael suddenly asked Lorena, "Why did you place your trust in me?" Lorena looked confused. "I mean, you had other nurses helping you, why was I any different?" He elaborated.

_Because you were concerned for my safety. _Lorena signed to him, now it was his turn to look confused. _When you first came in, the first thing you said to me was 'Stop, you're hurting yourself.' Nobody else noticed or cared enough to stop me from doing it. Except you. That's one of the things that convinced me you would be a good friend. _

_"_One of the things?" He questioned, a teasing tone to his voice. She just rolled her eyes at him, looking back up at the sky.

It wasn't until two years after he met Lorena that he heard her speak, it was his birthday. She had come to his house to have cake with him and his mother. They were celebrating now before he went off to the army to become an army doctor. "What? No present for your best friend?" He asked teasingly, hand clutched over his heart, feigning hurt.

_You'll just have to be patient and wait. _She signed back, eyes twinkling with mirth. He huffed indignantly and led her over to the dining room table.

"You can sit next to me Little Cub." He declared jokingly, it was a four-person table and his mother had already claimed the seat across from him. Therefore, the only place Lorena could sit was next to him.

_I'm gonna go help your mom with the cake._ She signed, heading towards the kitchen. His mother, a strong woman with dirty blonde hair like Michael walked into the room with a camera, recording the birthday boy.

"Really? A camera? What am I, nine?" He questioned his mom, while she just grinned at him. She turned to the doorway Lorena had just exited through, showing Lorena holding a medium-sized cake made into the shape of the bat-man symbol. Two candles that said "18" were alight in the middle of it.

Once Lorena set the cake on the table in front of him, she grinned a little and spoke in a shaky voice, scratchy from disuse, "Hap..py Birthday, Michael."

Immediately, Michael stood up and gave her a bear hug, laughing the whole time. "I always wondered what your voice sounded like!" He exclaimed, lifting her from the ground a couple of inches before setting her back down. Then he went back to his seat, and blew out the candles.

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**A/N: So? Answer some questions? Raise more questions? Good. Thanks guys for being so patient with me! Have a wonderful fourth of July!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Hey everybody! Sorry this update was...again...late. It was hard to write this chapter in terms of not giving anything important away and I couldn't find the right spot to stop which only made it later. So, this chapter is longer than normal. Thanks go to JohnstonGirl, NatureLoves, Loveina, SxEGirl, shotasayswhat, 15samcre, BlackDiamondDesign, Salimiome, pineapple lover (I love pineapple too!), Aquarius Youkai, musicluver707, fallenangel0632, Transformers' BABY, sianfaythe, and dvildead for following and faving.**

**NightHunterDeath: I was actually about to do that, but I thought, "Nah, years of disuse, your voice won't be exactly the same as it was before." So..yeah. Thanks for your understanding-ness (? *shrugs*)!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: Haha, yes my goal was to keep you guys guessing. Sorry again it took so long, hope you like it!**

**Gottaloveastory: *gives you rib-crushing bear hug* I MISSED YOU TOO I'M SUCH A HORRIBLE PERSON FOR KEEPING YOU BEAUTIFUL READERS WAITING SO LONG! (I have the world's biggest sweet tooth!)**

**Guest: Thanks so much! Sorry for the wait!**

**Zstar1: Here it is! Sorry! I had a fun time delving into Lorena's and Michael's back story as well, who knows, there may be more to come!**

**15samcre: Thank you so much, it means a lot to me that you enjoy my story so much! I will try my best to write lots and lots of fluff seeing as I've never written it before. Feel free to leave suggestions or something and I might use it, but it's fine if you don't want to. Thanks again for your patience and words of encouragement!**

**Day: Thank you very much for your kind words! Sorry again for the wait!**

**Transformers' BABY: So sorry for making you wait so long!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and any changes to the original story line.**

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"Do you wanna go walk on the beach with me, Rena-chan?" Haruhi invited, holding out a hand to Lorena.

"Nah." She replied, "I think I'll just hang out here-"

She was interrupted by Kyoya calling to her, "Rena-chan, why don't you come sit with me? I'd like to talk to you about something." Lorena just pointed at him while looking at Haruhi, as if saying, 'See this bullshit?' Haruhi just looked at her apologetically and helped her up. What she didn't know was that Kyoya had been recruited by Honey in his evil match-making schemes. After all, it would provide a great opportunity for more profits. Lorena took a seat to the right of Kyoya, in one of the white metal chairs. "So, Rena-chan," Kyoya began, moving his chair so he'd be slightly facing her as they talked. "Gotten any interesting business offers lately?"

She was about to spew some witty/sarcastic remark when she stopped, "Actually, I haven't gotten a single call or e-mail concerning business since Michael go here..." she trailed off. "Wait a minute!" She realized, "Did you have something to do with that?!"

"It was really all Michael-san's idea," he started with a smirk plastered onto his face, "consider it my birthday present to you."

She chuckled, "You sneaky son of a-"

"Water?" He offered, interrupting her before she could reach the end of that sentence.

"Sure, thanks."

She was just in the middle of a gulp when she heard Honey yell loudly to Haruhi, "Haru-chan! Wanna go hellfish shunting?!" That's when she began choking like Satan was strangling the life out of her. Quick to help a fellow human in need (psshhh), Kyoya leaned over to her and began patting her on the back firmly.

"Are you okay, Rena-chan?" he asked in concern.

Of course, Lorena was oblivious to the worried stare coming from Takashi. His attention found her when he heard her choking. Luckily, it wasn't serious, only water. He continued watching as she took another sip of what he realised to be Kyoya's water to stop choking. His eyes narrowed when he saw that Kyoya's hand lingered on her back, even when she was okay. Jealousy flared within him when they laughed at something Kyoya said, his hand-thankfully-moving away from her. But he didn't miss the scoot Kyoya made to get closer to Lorena. Then he quickly became ten times more jealous when Kyoya began touching her hair.

Thankfully, Michael went over around then and whisked Lorena away, carrying her bridal style, over to where he had some food and her phone. She stole Michael's hat from atop his head and placed onto her own, covering her face. He set her down when he reached the towel and umbrella he was at previously, and sat next to her, talking to her quietly. "You okay?" he asked worriedly, fearing she would shut herself down and not let him in.

"No." was her monotonus reply, laying down on the towel as she gave it. Despite this, he could hear the exhaustion and hopelessness in her voice.

He began stroking her hair in a comforting manner, "You can always go back to the beach house/mansion and 'take a nap' if you need to get away from everyone or something."

She made a whining noise in the back of her throat, "No, that'll just raise more questions. And knowing them, they're probably having some sort of birthday surprise being set up that I'd just have the perfect luck of walking in on. And...ugh." Michael hummed in understanding. "Just, lay with me?" She asked in a quiet and vulnerable voice. Michael didn't have the heart to say no. So, he laid down next her on his side (facing her). They stayed like that for a good fifteen minutes when Lorena's phone went off. They were smothered in the loud noise of the Doctor Who theme song. Lorena groaned loudly, burying her face in Michael's chest as her right hand blindly searched for her phone. She grabbed it and-even though she already knew who it was-looked at the Caller ID. Sure enough, it was her stepmother calling. The only good thing about this call was that she would be able to talk to her father for a couple minutes before being subject to more verbal abuse.

"Why do you even have that as the ringtone for her?" Michael questioned, also knowing who was calling, after all, he'd been with her plenty of times when she was called by her so-called "Gaurdian."

"Because when you hear this tune, you know shit's about to go down." She deadpanned, the still ringing phone clutched in her shaking hand. Michael grabbed her hand with one of his own, making her hands seem tiny and fragile in his large and calloused ones.

"It's okay, I'm here with you. You're not alone." he reassured, she nodded and answered the phone. He pulled her up to a sitting position with him, placing her in between his legs and circling his arms around her waist.

She slipped on her perfect emotionless mask, she rarely used it anymore, but she would definitely need it now. "Hello."

"Happy Birthday Lorena!" Two cheery voices sang on the other end of the line. The first one was her father, genuinely cheery. And the second, her stepmother, who only sounded cheery to fool her father into thinking she loved her. And he always fell for it.

"Thanks." Lorena replied, her cold and uninterested tone ringing in Michael's ears. He hated she had to be like this, but there was nothing he could do except be there for her.

"Come now, Lorena, don't be like that." Her father pleaded with her, his strong voice bringing relief to her. As long as he was there, nothing bad could happen. "Did you open the gifts we sent you?" He asked eagerly, sounding more like a father now than he had been in years.

"No, I'm not opening any gifts until after dinner."

"Darn... Well, when you do open them, tell me what you think, okay?"

Before she could reply, the sweet voice of her stepmother sounded, "Oh yes! I'm quite eager to know what you think of them!" While one would not place this voice with such a horrible person, it made Lorena clutch Michael's hand in fear. Lorena hated how she was so easily able to hurt her with just a few words, but it didn't help that it started when she was at her lowest and most vulnerable.

"Okay." Lorena managed to grind out with it still sounding like the rest of her responses.

"Oh, sorry Lorena, I have to get back to work now, they need me in some meeting or something. Happy Birthday again, I love you." And with that, he left. Leaving only Theresa on the phone with her.

"Well, now that he's out of the way..._you._" Theresa spat at her with disgust crystal clear in her voice. Lorena clutched Michael's hand harder and closed her eyes, quickly putting walls back up around her heart to keep from hurting again. "You know, I wish it was you who had died, not Jenna. She was always the better one." Pure rage filled Lorena. How _dare _she even mention her name to her. She had no right to bring her into this.

"Yeah, so do I." Lorena could hear the self-righteous snort, but before Theresa could continue, Lorena cut her off. "But you have no right to even _utter her name._ You cowered in a corner as she died. You didn't even _try _to save her. Not even as I held her there as she _died in my arms_. So you know what? Burn in Hell bitch." With that, Lorena ended the phone call and threw her phone as hard as she could towards the ocean. But they were so far away from it that it just landed in the sand a ways away. She sniffled and furiously wiped away stray tears that had managed to sneak out. Michael just hugged her, burying his face in her blonde hair, still in his position behind her. There was nothing else he could do.

Lorena stood up suddenly, plastering on a fake smile she held her hand out to Michael, "Okay, let's go see what everyone else is doing. Whatd'ya say?"

"Little Cub-" he started in a serious tone, knowing immediately what she was doing. She was distracting herself for long enough for emotions to be buried down deep within her again.

"Come on!" She insisted, ignoring the pity on his face. She grabbed his hand and forcefully dragged him up and began walking over to where most of the Host Club was gathered around Kyoya.

"We want to play too~!" Honey exclaimed at something Kyoya had said. Kyoya quickly hid something behind his back when he saw Lorena and Michael coming over.

"I guess that means we're all competing. Of course, Michael-san can't play, you know already."

"Umm.. Okay?" Michael replied, not sure as to what was going on.

Tamaki was ranting angrily as Honey asked, "Hey, wait a minute! Where did you get those pictures Kyo-chan?"

"I have my sources, how about we just leave it at that for the moment?" He replied cryptically.

**~Time Skip!~**

"This is the place, it's the most haunted spot of Okinawa. The locals don't even come out here." Hikaru explained to the group.

Kaoru continued, "They say that the only time you can even find this cave is at low-tide. Evidently, many people have died down here from drowning. And their souls still linger~, taking revenge on anyone who happens to come inside!" Just as he finished, a dark figure with glowing purple eyes appeared above the group with a creepy laugh that only amused Lorena. The other girls screamed, Haruhi only looked at Lorena with a bored face.

A hand grabbed Haruhi's and Lorena's shoulders, "What's going on? Are you trying to freak me out?" Haruhi questioned calmly. They turned to see the culprit was Hikaru, Kaoru on the other side holding the fake ghost.

"What's wrong with you guys? I thought everybody was afraid of ghosts?" Kaoru questioned, the flashlight shining on his face.

"But I've never seen a real one." Haruhi explained.

**~Time Skip~**

"Haru-chan! Rena-chan! Can you come over here?!" Honey called to the two girls, a smile never leaving his face.

"What the-?" Lorena began.

"Are you sure it's okay to drive a truck like this on the sand?" Haruhi asked incredulously.

"Well, we're ready whenever you are, Private Police people~!" Honey informed the police people. "Please lower the door!"

"Yes sir!" They lowered the big door to the back of the truck, engulfing the three in darkness. It was silent for about two seconds before Honey started freaking out.

"It'sdarkandscaryinhereIfeellikeIcan'tbreatheIcan'ttakeitanymore!Waaahhhh~~!"

**~Another Time Skip~**

They stood there as Mori pointed the harpoon at them. "Ummm, Mori, you're my sempai, not a sentai."

**~Fuckin Time Skips Galore~**

"This game's harder than I'd thought it'd be." Hikaru complained.

"No joke, I'm totally bored with it already." Kaoru agreed.

"What kind of heroine is she? She's gotta be afraid if something, right." Hikaru continued.

"Rena-chan too for that matter." Kaoru interjected.

"Hua ha!" Tamaki exclaimed, digging around in the bushes. The twins turned to address him.

"What's up boss? What are you doing?" They questioned.

Tamaki held up a bucket full of snakes, "I found some rat snakes! Surely they'll freak out when they see these!"

"Anyone would think those are creepy, so it isn't really a weakness." Hikaru droned. "Hold on, I thought there weren't any rat snakes in Okinawa?"

Lorena saw Haruhi confront two creeps-that had obviously been drinking by them stumbling about the place-and she got up to help. She ran over and up the rock just as the one with a ponytail held Haruhi to the edge of the mini-cliff.

"What are you gonna do now, loser?" He taunted, the other jerk holding onto the other two girls.

"Hey!" Lorena shouted at them, her shout startling Ponytail. He pushed Haruhi off the cliff and whipped around, now facing Lorena. She moved on instinct, darting to the edge of he cliff, fully intending to jump off. She did so, but not without "accidentally" punching the ponytail douche in the face. As she looked down from mid-air, she saw Haruhi hit the water, back-first. She dove into the water, the salt in it stinging her eyes. She saw Haruhi about twenty feet away from her, almost unconcious. She swam quickly and hooked her right arm under Haruhi's arms and began swimming up again. Her lungs screamed for air, and soon enough they breached the surface. Lorena managed to carry Haruhi back to shore, though Haruhi was able to walk on her own just fine. But just in case, Lorena kept an arm around her shoulders.

"Haru-chan! Rena-chan!" Honey called out worriedly.

"Where'd they go?" Lorena asked, finally moving her arm away from Haruhi as Kyoya handed her a shirt. Lorena's shirt was-obviously-soaked and clinging to her skin.

"We took their ID cards and respectfully asked them to leave." Kyoya answered, handing a dry shirt to. Lorena as well. "The girls all went back to the hotel, and I've called a doctor." Lorena could tell Michael was pissed, hell, she could tell Takashi was pissed at her. "She should be arriving here any minute now." Tamaki thanked him.

"I'm fine you guys, I don't need a doctor." Haruhi protested.

"What were you thinking? You know, you're not like Honey-sempai, you're not a martial arts master." Tamaki began to lecture Haruhi, and partly Lorena as well. "Why did you confront them? What made you think that you would stand a chance? You against two boys?"

"But it doesn't matter that their boys and I'm a girl, I was there I had to do something, there wasn't any time to think-"

"That's no excuse you idiot!" Tamaki shouted, "Don't forget you're a girl! You too Lorena!"

"Look I don't understand why you're so mad at us right now, I don't think we did anything wrong!" Haruhi shouted right back.

Silence for a second, then, in a calm voice, Tamaki retorted, "You don't think so? Then, I'm not speaking to you until you admit that you were wrong!"

**~Yep, Another Time Skip~**

"I don't see why you're so mad at me, Michael!" Lorena exclaimed loudly, getting a change of clothes from her bag and shampoo/conditioner. She needed a shower.

"You don't?! Really?! You jumped off a freaking cliff into the sea, without knowing if there were sharp rocks or anything at the bottom! And you punched a guy in the face!" He shouted back, blocking the door to the bathroom that was attached to her room.

"So? You wanted me to do nothing?!" She yelled, her voice raised to match his.

"YOU COULD'VE BEEN HURT!" He shouted, shaking her by the arms as he did. He continued in a lower-normal tome of voice, "I was worried. We all were."

"I know." She whispered back, head bent down to look at her feet. "And I'm sorry, I just... I couldn't just watch something like that again... I had to save her, the way I couldn't for..." Her voice broke. He hugged her, completely understanding.

"It's okay, I'm sorry for pushing." She nodded into his chest. "Uh, I'll let you shower now." He left with that, Lorena calmed herself and went in to take her shower.

Sneaking around in the shadows, two red-heads snuck into the bathroom where poor, unsuspecting Lorena was showering. They grabbed the clothes she had placed on the counter and replaced them with ones they had picked out for her. They snickered silently to each other and snuck back out, successfully managing to get away with it.

**~10 minutes later~**

"Hey Takashi, will you go get Haru-chan and Rena-chan?" Honey asked cutely. Takashi grunted in the affirmative and left the dining room to go find the two girls. He didn't have to search long when he ran into them in the hallway. He led them back to the dining room, everyone else was already there.

When the doors opened, everyone turned to see Haruhi in a pink dress with a ribbon in front and Lorena in a red and black plaid shirt and high-waisted shorts with holes in them ( twins_made_me/set?id=119139097 ). The shirt Lorena was wearing was obviously Michael's. They were followed by Mori, who was determined to keep his eyes off of Lorena, he was still mad with her after all.

"Woah~!" Honey exclaimed.

"Haruhi, where'd you get that dress?" The twins asked at the same time.

"From my dad," she replied, "he must've repacked my bags when i wasn't looking. He's always trying to get me to wear this frilly stuff."

"That's awesome! Way to go dad!" The twins said, putting their thumbs up in approval. Lorena could see Tamaki looking at them from behind a pillar. "Rena-chan!" The twins chided as their attention switched to her, "that's not what we gave you!"

She narrowed her eyes in anger at them, "So it was _you two_." A dark aura appeared behind her, slightly scaring the two. "As if I'd wear something like that, I was lucky I snagged a shirt from Michael, there was no way I was going to wear just the top you gave me. But, since I know you're going to ask, I am wearing it." They smirked mischeviously. "But _don't get any ideas._ I'm keeping this shirt on, you're lucky I wore these shorts."

They shrugged, they had to agree with her there. And just as they thought she would, she looked amazing in them, even Takashi noticed.

Lorena sat next to Kyoya and across from Takashi. Next to Kyoya was Hikaru and Kaoru, then Michael. On the other side was Takashi, Honey, Haruhi, and Tamaki. They all sat in an awkward silence for a minute or so until Hikaru interrupted it. "Well this is uncomfortable."

"Yeah," Kaoru agreed with his brother, "this is really awkward."

Honey tried to relieve the tension by saying, "Let's dig in Haru-chan! These are the crabs we caught, I bet they're delicious!"

And Haruhi did just that, she snapped a crab leg in half and began eating vigorously. One after the other, she ate and ate and ate until her plate was lost under the pile of crab shells. Everyone else ate in relative silence, not really knowing what was going to happen next.

"Don't you think you've had enough? Give it a rest!" Tamaki commented.

"I'm sorry? I thought you weren't speaking to me." Haruhi retorted, voice dripping in sass.

"Okay fine. I get it, it seems you refuse to admit that you were wrong. I'm going to bed. Kyoya, will you show me to my room?"

"No problem. Well, excuse me everyone." And with that, they left. Haruhi then stopped eating, looking regretful of her decision.

"Maybe he's right, maybe I do need to learn a way to protect myself."

"So that's it, he got to you huh?" The twins said simultaneously.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt you to learn martial arts or something." Hikaru started.

"But it's not like we're going to force you to learn it." Kaoru continued.

"Besides," they said at the same time, "that's not the real issue here. To be honest, we were all a little worried, about how recklessly you acted."

"What do you mean? I didn't cause you guys any trouble or anything." Haruhi questioned, completely missing the point. The twins just sighed and shrugged at each other, as if saying, "What are we gonna do with her?"

"That's not true Haru-chan." Honey piped in, "I think you should apologize, 'kay?" He smiled at her. "You too Rena-chan!" He said quickly, not allowing her to think she had gotten off the hook. "You made us all worry, especially Tama-chan. I think you need to apologize to him the most."

"So you..were worried about me? But why?" Haruhi still didn't quite understand. Everyone at the table sighed, all thinking the same thing, "She's hopeless." "Guys, I'm really sorry." Haruhi apologized.

"Awww, apology accepted you little mutt. You're so cute, we forgive you!" Hikaru said as everyone hugged her, to cute to not forgive. Somehow, Lorena and Michael had also been pulled into the involuntary group hug. "What about you Rena-chan?" Hikaru eyed her.

"I..guess..." Lorena sighed, "I'm sorry for worrying you guys as well." They hugged her tighter. Then Haruhi started to look really sick. They rushed her to the nearest bathroom.

Since there was nothing Lorena or anyone else could really do for Haruhi, they went their seperate ways. Lorena was walking back to her room with Michael when he left to go to his own room, they decided she would open her presents back home. Soon enough, Lorena was joined by someone else in the hallway.

"Ah, Takashi-sempai, is there something you need?" Lorena asked, tilting her head. He thought the head tilt was adorable and watched as her blonde hair slipped off her shoulder when she did that.

"What did they make you wear?" He was straight to the point, as always.

"Ah," she said, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment, "it's just a black cut-off top with long sleeves. It ends about here." She put her hand up to about two inches below her chest. She continued as he imagined how she'd look with that on. "Of course, paired with these shorts, I thought it was just way too revealing, you know? Luckily Michael stopped by and I managed to rob him of this shirt." He grunted in response, but didn't turn to walk away now that his question had been answered, he just stood there. "Ummm, I was just gonna change real quick, then i figured I'd go check up on Haruhi. I'm worried about her because it's storming so bad outside and she's afraid of thunder and lightning." She stopped to consider her words carefully, "Would you mind terribly if you waited for me? This place is really big, and with my luck I'd get lost in it. I won't take long, promise!" He nodded and followed her the rest of the way to her room.

Lorena opened the door and went into her room, making sure to close the door properly. She unbuttoned the plaid shirt she was wearing as she walked over to the bed where her bag was laying. She tossed it on the bed and was about to open her bag when she saw something. It was an envelope. On the front was her name and address in cursive. She ripped it open, recognizing the cursive writing as Theresa's. There was a note and a picture inside of it. The note read, "I found this when I was going through some old boxes, figured you might like it." The picture was of a much younger Lorena, about seven years old, smiling widely at the camera. A few of her teeth missing and some dirt on her face, it was obvious she was not afraid to get dirty or hurt. Written on the back of the picture was, "Lorena promised Jenna she'd always protect her when she caught Jenna from falling out of a tree. A picture to always remember it."

Lorena's heart cracked, tears poured out of her eyes as the pain clung to her like an old friend. She suddenly pushed the lamp off of the nightstand, hearing shatter when it reached the ground. She didn't feel any better. She hadn't been able to keep her promise. She'd let Jenna down, and she'd been paying the price ever since. She dropped the picture, not noticing when it fluttered to the ground as she hugged herself, willing the pain to stop. This familiar old pain that always felt new. There was no ignoring or getting used to it. Life always had a way of shoving her to the ground. How many times had she gotten back up? How many times would she still be able to get back up until she couldn't? She didn't know.

She did, however, notice when a deep voice called out to her, "Lorena?" She whipped around, and there he was, Takashi.

He waited outside her door as she changed. He wasn't standing there for more than thirty seconds when he heard a crash from inside the room and breaking glass. He rushed in without a second thought, fearing she was hurt. He was about three steps into the room when he stopped. The lamp lay on the ground in pieces, but that's not what he was looking at. Lorena had apparently taken off the plaid shirt, leaving her in her shorts, Adidas shoes and the black top she had told him about. And _damn_ did she look good in it. But that's not what he was thinking about at the moment, no no, his attention was fixed on the large burn scar that wrapped around her left side and reached to her spine.

When she whipped around to face him-she hadn't heard him come bursting through the door-she had inadvertently revealed to him the other scars on the front of her torso. She stared at him in shock for a second. Then she realized what she was wearing-or more importantly, what she wasn't wearing-and quickly grabbed the plaid shirt from on her bed and held it in front of her abdomen, as if he hadn't seen. But he had. It was too late, he knew, and now he would never want anything to do with her again. Who would? She was scarred and disgusting. There was the word that she knew all too well, disgusting.

There it was, the pain she knew would assault her when he found out how ugly she really was. She knew weeks ago that she would get hurt if she let him-and everyone else-into her heart. And yet, she still did it.

"Takashi..." she mumbled, trying to find the quickest way to get out of there. She could lock herself in the bathroom, though he would definitely be able to break the door down and she'd be even more trapped than she already was. She could try to use her smaller size to get around him and out the door, but that ran the risk of running into someone else. She could jump out of the window, but she'd surely break a leg, then she wouldn't be able to run away.

Running away, that's what she was best at. Running away from her feelings, problems, family, anything really.

She decided her best chance of getting away was running past him and slipping through the door. "I..I have to go." The words tumbled out of her mouth quickly, almost sounding like one long word. She rushed past him and had just made it two steps out the door when he snagged her by the waist, dragging her back into the room, his other hand over her mouth in case she thought about screaming or something.

"Why are you running?" He asked the girl in his arms. She didn't answer him, still trying to wiggle out of his grasp.

Seeing as she was getting nowhere, Lorena stopped struggling. Her eyes burned from the unshed tears, but she refused to cry. She pulled his hand away from her mouth so she could speak. "Y-You just startled me is all." She lied through her teeth. "A-A-A-And I was really flustered because this outfit is really...revealing."

"That's not it." He countered, not believing her lies for a second.

"What do you mean? How would you know what I feel?" She chuckled nervously, trying to sound as convincing as she could.

"There's something else." Takashi insisted, determined to get the truth out of her. "You were scared of something, and hurting." He wiped away a tear trail off of her cheek from earlier to emphasize his point.

That was it, there was no point in trying to fool him. He knew her too well. "You think I'm disgusting, don't you?" She whispered, he almost didn't hear it, almost. He was about to ask why she would believe such a ludicrous thing when she continued. "I get it, okay? So just let me go! I'll...I'll leave, okay?" Her voice cracked, tears running down her face again. This was her punishment, for even _daring_ to think she could have friends again...To be even just a little bit happy.

Without thinking, Takashi spun her around in his arms and hugged her tightly. He was angry and sad at the same time. How could she think that about herself? Did she really think so low of him? Of everyone? Did she really not trust them at least to be decent human beings? He noticed that Lorena had wrapped her arms around him, returning the hug. Going by the growing wet spot on his shirt, he knew she was crying. But, she was oddly silent, and her shoulders barely shook. Last he checked, typically when you cry you make noise and your whole body moves. He decided not to question it for now. He began walking backwards towards her bed, intending to get her to sleep. Dragging her along, he pushed her bag off of the bed and got under the covers with her.

They both fell asleep within two minutes.

* * *

**A/N: So? Thoughts? Did the link work? Please excuse any grammatical or spelling errors that may have occurred. And let's just assume that I won't be updating regularly for a while. I hope to finish the next chapter this week, but who knows what'll happen.**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Eeeewwww... School started again... It's horrible guys! School is such a joke! Anyways, here we are, I finally finished this damn chapter. Slight warning, I think Mori is OOC in the beginning, even with the way he acts when he's tired. But whatever, I can't bring myself to care right now. Special thanks go to thebananakeeper, HeapOfAshes, basketball4444, Sara and Kisa, Enecs, jjr797, AssassinaAquila, Dragon of Selene, piplup13, kat-duchannes, bloodydarkangel, and rants and oblivious for following and faving! You guys are awesome!**

**NightHunterDeath: Thanks for telling me, I think I figured out the problem. And it's obviously been over a week, sorry!**

**thebananakeeper: Thank you so much! You made me very happy! You made me smile!**

**Transformers' Baby: Thank you! More fluff to come!**

**Gottaloveastory: G-Gone? *sniffles* It's okay... You can do what you want... *muffled violent sobbing***

**15samcre: Thank you thank you thank you! P.S. Thank you loads for the advice and encouragement, I'll try my best! Just for you! You beautiful soul! Woah... Talk about channeling your inner Tamaki... I kinda scared myself... *shrugs and continues munching on carrots***

**Zstar1: Sorry for the wait! Thank you for putting up with me!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: Here it is!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Ouran, it would have a second AND third season!**

* * *

The next morning, Lorena woke up engulfed in warmth. She cracked her eyes open tiredly, only to see some sort of cotton shirt. But look, there was someone _in_ the shirt. She tilted her head up, still half asleep and very confused. She was greeted with the sight of Takashi's sleeping face. She snapped out of her sleepy state so fast it was like someone had poured ice water on her. She inhaled sharply as her cheeks heated up to about 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Her thoughts were sent into a whirlwind as she tried to figure a way out of this situation. 'Okay,' she thought, 'calm down. Now I need to get up without waking him up. How hard could that be?' Without moving her head too much, she looked down to see Takashi's arm draped across her waist, easy enough to move. Next she focused on her legs. Her left leg was between his and her right one was hooked over his left one. 'Dang, not so easy.' Slowly and carefully, she unhooked her leg and began sliding it back to her own space. Seeming to sense the warmth leaving him, Takashi stirred-Lorena stopped breathing and froze when he did-but didn't wake. Sending a grateful prayer to whatever god was listening, she successfully moved her leg back to her own space.

Now for the real challenge. Hoping that he wasn't a light sleeper, she decided to test how much she could move her leg without him stirring. She flexed the muscles in her leg quickly, no reaction. She twitched her foot, no reaction again. She began lifting her leg when he shifted his whole body. He rolled onto his back, taking her with him. Cursing her luck and just wishing she would die right then, she reassessed her situation and odds of getting out of this unscathed. Luckily, her other leg had been freed when he moved. Unfortunately, she was now half-on top of him, her head laying on his chest.

While his muscles did feel nice and the sound of his steady heartbeat soothing, she was in deep shit. He would definitely feel her absence more now than before if she were to leave. She briefly considered just staying and dealing with him when he got up. 'No, if I stay, someone is sure to come in looking for one or both of us and misunderstand the situation.' She was about to try moving again-which would surely end in ruin-when she heard the door open.

'OHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT!' Deciding it was best to just feign sleep, Lorena closed her eyes and slowed her breathing a bit to give the illusion of sleep. She heard the distinct clicks of a camera on a phone and a childish giggle. Honey-sempai. Were the blankets covering her? Yes, good.

She felt someone poking her cheek, she snapped her eyes open. Sure enough, there stood Honey, a mischievous and slightly victorious smile on his face and a phone in his hand. 'Help me!' Lorena mouthed to him, hoping he would perhaps distract the sleeping giant as she slipped out. He shook his head, smile still stretched across his face. He left, but not before closing the door behind him loudly.

Life decided to keep up her streak as a cruel bitch. The slamming door woke up Takashi. Lorena was going to close her eyes again and pretend to be sleeping, but he had already seen her eyes were open.

They stared in each other's eyes for a second before he hummed. "I can't think of a better way to wake up." Her eyebrows twitched in confusion. He continued, "Beautiful girl curled up next to me, I must've done something right." She blushed and looked away, not really sure what to say to that.

He chuckled, "You're so cute when you blush." He stroked her cheek with his thumb.

'Why is he so talkative all of a sudden? And is he...flirting with me?' She thought.

He flipped her over, "I could just eat you up." His eyes burned into hers, her breath caught in her throat. If it was possible, she blushed even more. Who wouldn't? "But I don't want you to avoid me again."

Lorena was about to ask what he meant when there was a loud banging on the door. Immediately, Lorena pushed Takashi off of her and onto the ground on the other side of the bed so whoever was at the door wouldn't be able to see him. _Thud!_

"Umm, Lorena? Are you okay?" Michael's voice could be heard from the other side, the doorknob already turning.

"Yes! Don't come in, I'm changing!" She rushed, jumping out of the bed and putting on the pull-over hoodie from yesterday. It easily went past the edge of her shorts.

The door slammed closed again, "Oh sorry. Breakfast is in ten minutes. Want me to wait for you?" He called.

"No no! You go ahead! I'll be right there!" She called out again, hurriedly trying to pick up the pieces of the broken lamp.

"Okay..." Michael reluctantly left, his footsteps echoing down the hallway. Takashi didn't stand up until they could no longer hear him.

Now fully awake, Takashi had a faint tint of pink across his cheeks as he remembered what he almost did and what he had said. Their eyes made awkward contact for .352 seconds before they looked away. "Sorry..." Takashi mumbled as he walked out of the room.

Once he was gone, Lorena sighed in relief. She didn't know what just happened, but she was glad she got out of it fairly unharmed. But now she was faced with two problems:

1.) Takashi knew about her scars and would most definitely not want to have anything to do with her again

2.) Honey-sempai had incriminating pictures.

If someone else were to see those pictures, they would surely misunderstand the situation. They would jump to conclusions, and then the whole thing would be a big ole mess. She was getting a headache just thinking about it.

She quickly changed into **(A/N: Just type in polyvore . com and add this bit at the end of it)** /cgi/set?id=132510219. She brushed out her hair and rushed out of the room, looking for Honey-sempai so she could destroy his phone.

However, before she could reach him, she was ambushed by a certain pair of identical twins.

"Rena-chan," Kaoru started, tugging on her right arm.

"Where are you going?" Hikaru finished, tugging on her left one. They began leading her somewhere, their combined strength overpowering her own.

"Chibi hunting." She deadpanned.

"Whatever, come have breakfast with us~!" They chorused.

"We've missed you spending time with us~..." Hikaru whined. He was honestly just like a spoiled child.

"Yeah~! The bed's soooo cold without you Rena-chan~!" Make that two.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's absolutely freezing." She sassed back, now realizing they were dragging her towards the kitchen.

"Don't be like that Rena-chan!" They said simultaneously. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

"Something like that..." She mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing..."

**~Time Skip~**

"You'd better watch your back, Haruhi!" Kaoru called out from beside the limo.

"I never would've pegged the Boss as an S&amp;M pervert." Hikaru continued as they got into the limo.

Everyone else was going into one limo and Lorena and Michael went into another. It wasn't that they couldn't all fit, after all, you could fit at least twenty people in those things, it was just that the hosts apparently didn't want to ride with them. Lorena wasn't bothered by it. Not one bit. Nope. Nothin' botherin' Lorena. (Hopefully you note sarcasm). Not that she would ever tell anyone, it hurt. They claimed to be her friends, and then want nothing to do with her. What's up with that?!Whatever, just another reason to add to the list of "Why Not to Care about Anything."She wasn't bothered much by not celebrating her birthday. She didn't want to in the first place. She forced herself to ignore the pang in her chest at the thought of that. She did not care. She didn't. Not one bit.

"Lorena, come on, what's wrong?" Michael prodded.

"Nothing's wrong with me, why do you think something's wrong with me?" She answered just a little too quickly.

Michael sighed, "You know you can't lie to me, I know all of your tricks and tells. Now that I think about it, you were acting pretty weird when I went to retrieve you for breakfast. And I passed Honey in the hallway on my way there, he had this funny look on his face..." He trailed off in thought for a second before smirking at her. "Now I _have_ to know, what happened?"

Lorena rolled her eyes and sighed, "Nothing of import."

"Okay, Castiel." He teased, letting the subject drop...for now...

**~Another Time Skip~**

Lorena was beyond grateful when they finally arrived at her apartment. She had spent the whole ride back with Michael non-stop pestering and questioning her about what happened. She-being the stubborn bull she is-did not give in to his whining. He would never let her live it down. He had tried every method he could think of trying to get her to spill, but she was having none of it. He tried bribery, blackmail, pleading, the sympathy card, _everything_. But no matter what he did, it just did. Not. Work.

"Come on~!" He whined, desperate to know.

She growled in frustration, "You're giving me a migraine, Michael! You know what, that's what I'm gonna call you from now on. Migraine Michael. Yeah, that sounds good." She unlocked her door with her key-one of many on the key ring.

When she opened the door, she did not expect what was on the other side. Not one bit. "Happy Late Birthday Lorena~!"

She stood there frozen, shocked at what lie before her. There, in the middle of her apartment, was the Host Club and a giant cake that read in cursive black letters, "Happy Birthday Rena-chan~!" A couple large wrapped presents sat off to the side.

Michael pushed her the rest of the way into the apartment, a large smile on his face, and closed the door. "What do you think?" He asked her.

"You... You guys did this...for me?" She breathed out. She breifly thought this was a dream, but a harsh pinch to the arm quickly shot down that theory. Drugs? Nope, she hadn't eaten anything that everyone else hadn't eaten. Dead? Possibly, let's see.

"We meant to do this yesterday, but the storm prevented the delivery of the cake and presents, so we had them sent here." The twins explained swiftly, dragging Lorena over to the large white cake. They shoved a large cake cutter in her hands, "You get to cut the first piece for yourself, Birthday Girl."

Lorena wasn't completely sure that this wasn't some sort of joke. When she cut into it, she half-expected it to be plastic or someone to pop out of it. But it wasn't, she took the plate from Honey-sempai as she sloppily placed the large piece onto it. Half of the piece didn't come off with her first try. She got it all onto her plate, the pile of cake looking very tempting. It was a rich chocolate with a fudge filling and cream cheese icing.

Everyone was staring at her awaiting her opinion. She lifted a forkful into her mouth and savored the flavor. It was by far the best cake she'd ever had. She hummed, "It's delicious!" They were all happy to hear that.

Haruhi began serving pieces of cake, Honey-sempai getting by far the largest one, and Lorena went to sit at the corner of her table in the living space. She hadn't taken another bite of her cake, and tried her best to hide the few tears running down her cheeks. She couldn't help it, she was feeling a little happy, and a lot sad. Honey came over with his massive plate of cake and sat next to her. "Why are you crying Rena-chan?"

"I'm just happy." She ruffled his hair. He smiled in return and began digging into his cake once again as everyone else started seating themselves around the table. She managed to not let another tear slip past her eyes the rest of the night.

The rest of the night was full of laughter, cake, teasing, and funny stories. At one point, Michael and Lorena decided to "feed" each other, which they both ended up smashing it into their faces. Michael even got some in her hair. This meant that Lorena had to go to the bathroom and wash it out in the sink. She was then thankful for this, as she caught the two shady twins about to enter her bedroom. She dragged them back by their ears and had Haruhi scold and lecture them about invading people's privacy. _That was way too close. _Lorena thought as she went back to join the others.

When it was time to open her presents, she really shouldn't have been as surprised as she was.

The twins gave her total access to their mom's designer clothes.

She had already recieved her gift from Kyoya.

Honey-sempai gave her a membership to a fancy bakery, and he made her promise she would go with him.

Tamaki gave her a couple frilly pink dresses that he wanted her to wear, which she immediately shot down.

Haruhi gave her a movie they had watched at her apartment many times because it was Lorena's favorite. She assured her that it was the perfect gift and hugged her.

Takashi gave her a silver bracelet with an angel wing on it, to match the angel wings necklace she always wore. He never saw it until the night before when it wasn't tucked under her shirt.

She thanked them all for their generous gifts.

**~Time Skip~**

"Bye!" Michael waved the Host Club off, closing the door and letting out a sigh. He looked around the kitchen, they had dishes to clean, but that could wait until later. He put the leftover cake into the fridge and trudged over to the spare bedroom that he'd been staying in.

Lorena had retreated into her room as soon as they had left, he decided to leave her alone. Space was what she really needed right now.

He began packing their bags again. They had a long flight back to America tonight.

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**A/N: Eeeeehhhh... Shitty ending is shitty. Oh well. Hope you guys aren't too terribly disappointed, I tried. Ummmmm what else... Oh yeah! I think I figured out the link problem! Please tell me if it still didn't work! And I'm sorry it's so troublesome, I'm not sure why, but FFN won't let me just copy and paste it on here. If anyone knows how to make it easier or put the actual link in the story, I would be eternally grateful! Thanks guys! Until next time~~!**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Hey guys. it's me again! Special thanks go to Airliena, Carmelskeeper, MoonBeamLily, fluffyshadow, averagefanficreader, Kristi99989, ilovemusic24601, xXDeathBunnyXx2, Maya I. Hendricks, booklover4179, Jeanette121, dragonkiss89, storygirl99210, musican216, Annasevoil, Mariamoonshine, Edward Cullen's Girl, oxsilvertearsxo, theblackpencilcase, HalfwayParanoid, Little Starlette, and Rikku Himura for following and faving.**

**NightHunterDeath: Thanks for telling me! And no, you didn't miss anything, it was meant to be confusing/surprising. I know, annoying Author.**

**15samcre: Don't worry, you didn't miss anything! It was meant to be confusing! Thank you so much for the feedback! I hope I can properly meet the potential you see for my story! Here you go!**

**Gottaloveastory: Welcome *hugs*! And thank you, I was afraid it was horrible and very OOC (which it probably was but oh well).**

**Allora22701: Well welcome back! And thank you!**

**YuYuHakushoObsesser: Thank you!**

**Transformers' BABY: That he is!**

**Annasevoil: Your review made me laugh so hard! Here it is!**

**loopyhutton: Thank you very much darling!**

**Disclaimer: I'm too poor to own Ouran. Seriously. I'm broke.**

**Ummm warning? There's a little violence and language at the end, though nothing too bad. Not sure if this is needed but just in case.**

**EDIT: FUCK I missed some people, sorry, I just noticed it right when I posted the chapter. Sorry for the confusion, if any.**

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When Lorena didn't show up to school or the Host Club the next day, everyone was concerned. Well, everyone but the infamous Shadow King.

"Where is my darling daughter?!" Tamaki wailed.

"Maybe she's sick." Haruhi suggested off-handedly, not knowing what she had just done.

"SICK?!" Tamaki and the twins exclaimed in unison.

"If our poor Rena-chan is sick, then it is our responsibility as her friends to take care of her! We must go at once!" Tamaki demanded, already headed for the door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Kyoya called out coolly, stopping the Host King in his tracks. He continued, "Surely you can't have forgotten that we have plenty of customers today?"

"How could you think about business at a time like this?! What about the well-being of our daughter?!" His arms flailed wildly, "Look, Mori-sempai is worried out of his mind!" Everyone looked at Mori who seems his normal self, sitting next to Honey as always. "Bad example! Haruhi is worried!" Everyone looked at Haruhi who had a hand to her chin in thought, completely oblivious to the others staring at her. "There is no time to waste! We must help our beloved Rena-chan!" Once again he headed for the door.

"You still won't get very far." Kyoya called again, still being his usual cryptic self.

"And why's that?" Hikaru asked sarcastically, also halfway out the door with his brother.

"She's not here." What is it, not give straight answers day?!

"We know that Kyoya-sempai, that's why we are going to her!" Hikaru answered, sass-o-meter to the max.

"I meant, not here as in not in Japan."

"What do you mean, Kyoya-sempai?" Haruhi asked, done thinking about whatever she was thinking about (probably what to make for dinner).

"She left the country, she informed me last night not too long after we left." Kyoya smirked.

Everyone was thinking the same thing in that moment, 'Why didn't you tell us earlier?'

Honey started tearing up, "She left?! Where?!"

"America, she and Michael left not too long after we did." He replied, still writing things in his notebook.

"We must go and get her then!" Tamaki yelled out extravagantly with a hand over his heart. "We cannot simply allow her to leave us forever! I never got to see her in the dresses I got her!"

"Yes!" The twins agreed immediately, once again, heading towards the door.

"There'll be no need for that." Kyoya said, still vague as ever. "She'll be returning tomorrow. I also had a couple of agents follow her, we'll be able to see everything she does and everyone she interacts with."

They were all reminded then how scary Kyoya could really be. "Is that really necessary? I feel like that would be wrong, invading her privacy like that. If she wanted us to know what she was doing se would tell us. This isn't right." Haruhi declared, crossing her arms defiantly. She would have no part in this. Everyone else looked guilty under her glare, they never liked disappointing her.

"As Lorena's friends, we are merely concerned for her well-being. What kind of friends would we be if we couldn't even make sure she was happy? Believe me when I say my intentions are of the purest." Kyoya countered nonchalantly. Haruhi's stern glare faltered, she would be lying if she said she wasn't concerned for her friend. This trip was so sudden, had something happened? Was she okay? Her family? She would be lying if she said she wasn't also curious as to what she was doing over there in America. No, she wouldn't be a part of it, she'd ask Lorena herself, face-to-face, like it should be done.

"Nevertheless, I shall have no part in it. I understand your reasons, but I still don't think it's right." Haruhi finished, not willing to discuss the matter any further. There was a tense minute of silence-very awkward-, not even Tamaki's usual happy-go-lucky attitude could disperse it completely.

Breaking the tense atmosphere, Kyoya looked at his watch, "It's opening time."

Things were going by regularly, Haruhi was chatting with some girls, and the twins were explaining to Renge what instant coffee was. They each put a hand on Haruhi's shoulders, "Go buy us some more instant coffee, Haruhi."

"Why do I have to go get it?" She deadpanned.

"Because you're the only commoner, no one else knows where to buy it." Hikaru smiled, cleaning out her ears.

"We've even been serving it to our guests lately," Kaoru continued, washing her hair as Hikaru polished her shoes. "Besides, it's part of your job." They began brushing her already immaculate uniform.

"But the cultural club exposition starts soon." She pointed out, trying to get out of walking all the way to the store and back.

"Yeah, but it's not mandatory, so if you're not interested you don't have to go!" Hikaru informed her as they carried her out of the doors, ignoring the angry mark on her forehead.

"And with that being said, be careful out there!" They finished together, waving her off with her annoyed mood.

Two girls came out and began thanking Haruhi for what she had done for the twins. They explained that they had been in their class in middle school, but they never interacted with anyone but each other.

"And it's all thanks to you and the rest of the Host Club!" The girl with blue ribbons in her hair chirped. "Of course, we all hope the same thing will happen with Lorena-chan, she seems really nice! And we think she'd be a lot happier if she just came out of her shell. So, thank you." They quickly went back into the room as Haruhi pondered over what she had just been told.

In fact, she was so lost in thought about this, on her way back, she didn't even notice the banana peel before it was too late. She began to fall, but was then caught by a tall brunette. "It'd be a shame for any harm to come to that cute face of yours, young lady." She said as she set Haruhi back down onto the ground. She looked up at the girl, only now getting a good look at her face, shocked. How did she know?

**~Time Skip~**

After the Zuka Club's threat to destroy the Host Club and Haruhi storming away, Tamaki was quite upset. He began forming a plan in his mind. He would make sure neither Haruhi nor Rena-chan would have any reason to leave the Host Club. If female companionship was what they wanted, then female companionship was what they'd get.

Kyoya's laptop made a _ding_ sound, "Hmm? Oh, right on time." He muttered.

"What is it Kyo-chan?" Honey-sempai asked, looking over his shoulder at the laptop.

"Oh, just the video from my agents that have been tailing Rena-chan in America. At least, the video so far." This grabbed everyone's attention.

Kyoya started the video, everyone-excluding Haruhi-were crowded around the laptop, curiosity spilling off of them in waves.

**~On the Video~**

Lorena and Michael stood in front of an airport, the time of filming in the corner showed it was late at night there in America. Lorena's family jet got them there faster than any other public plane would've.

A young man jogged over to them, waving his arm in the air, catching the two's attention. Michael-who was wearing his army uniform-met him halfway and gave him a big hug and a quick kiss. They quickly went back to Lorena and the mystery man gave her a big hug too, he kissed the top of her head.

The video split into two now, one side had the shot of a camera from farther away, and the other a closer view, so close they could hear what they were saying to each other. The farther view shot showed a Japanese woman with glasses on standing next to them, this must have been the other agent that was getting the up close shot, her glasses being fake and hiding a camera in them.

"Ready to go? Or were you expecting anyone to pick you up themselves?" The mystery man asked Lorena, taking her bag from her hands.

"Oh, thanks Nate." She handed her bag to him. "Umm, no. No one's coming to pick me up." She brushed her hair out of her face, "Looks like you're stuck with me." She joked.

He laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders, "You know I love having you around." The three of them began walking towards the parking lot, presumably where this 'Nate' guy parked his car. The agents followed them at a safe distance.

'Nate' was as tall as Michael, with shaggy brown hair and deep brown eyes. He was dressed in old jeans and a black muscle t-shirt. He was fit, the Hosts just assumed he was involved in a sport or something. He was a very handsome guy, almost all of the ladies at the airport turned to look at him. He definitely attracted extra attention.

The lady agent from before ran ahead of them and pretended to try and get into the car next to Nate's. But what she was really doing was planting a microphone on the car.

"Oh!" She chuckled nervously, "Wrong car! I'm such a ditz!" She walked away, pretending to be embarrassed about making a mistake in front of strangers. The three were none-the-wiser. They got in the car and drove off, the other agent followed them on a motorcycle. The lady agent called a cab and also followed them from a distance.

They stopped at a café to have drinks and catch up. The male agent also entered a minute after they did, ordering himself a coffee and sitting at the booth behind them. While he listened in on their conversation-recording the whole thing as well-the lady agent (we'll call her Agent A for sanity's sake) planted a microphone inside the car as well as in Lorena's bag with a hidden camera.

The conversation in the café was nothing special. The waitress came over to deliver their drinks and cookies. Lorena got a hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie, Michael got black coffee, and Nate got a coffee with two sugars and two sugar cookies.

"Oh, hey!" Nate perked up, "I know a friend who's having a party tonight, do you guys wanna come?"

"When does it start?" Michael questioned, cautious as to what kind of party this would be.

"Technically it's already started, but it's okay if we show up a little late. So? What d'ya say?"

"What the hell, I won't be able to sleep until I get home anyways." Lorena sighed, finishing off her cookie.

"Oh, well, I can just drive you home if you want." Nate replied, finishing off his own coffee and cookies.

"No, no. Not my house, my apartment back in Japan." This struck the Hosts, she thought of Japan as her home? Did that mean she thought of them as her family? "I won't be able to sleep anyways with the jet lag."

"Then it's decided then! We're going! But, Lorena, you're going to have to change."

"What?!" She protested, "Why!?"

"I wanna see you all dolled up, come on it'll be fun." Nate replied, getting up and throwing their trash away. She groaned, throwing her head back. There was no way she'd be able to get out of this.

Kyoya fast-forwarded through the car drive until they reached a large mansion.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Lorena drawled, dreading what face her on the other side of the front door.

Nate whistled in awe, "Humble my ass. Anyways, let's go, I don't trust you to dress yourself up." He began pushing her into the mansion, Michael following with her bag.

Through the camera and mic on Lorena's bag, they watched as Lorena was both pulled and pushed up the grand staircase and then pounced on by her pets.

When they reached her room, the bag was thrown to the ground. They were able to see the edge of a king-sized bed, a large walk-in closet, and an attached bathroom.

"Sit here." Nate ordered as he pushed her down onto the bed and walked into her closet. He was looking around it, shaking his head in disapproval. "Where is it? I know you have it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lorena said innocently, hoping he wouldn't find it. Her hopes were crushed when she heard his victorious cry.

"Tried to hide it in the back, sneaky." He came out with a deep blue dress over his arm and matching heels. "Here. Put it on." He ordered.

"No, no, no! I'm not wearing this!" She tried to protest, Michael just stood in the corner chuckling at her misfortune.

Nate pushed her towards the bathroom. "Yes you are. Now either you put it on yourself or I'll do it for you."

She squeaked and ran to the bathroom, closing and locking the door. Nate smiled at her antics before sitting in the edge if her bed. "You too. You get changed, there's some clothes if yours in there." Nate waved him over to the closet, his tone left no room for argument.

"Yes sir." Michael jokingly saluted him, heading towards the closet, closing the doors behind him.

"Nothin' I haven't seen before." Nate called out to him.

"True, but we don't want to scar poor Lorena." Michael called back through the closet doors. Nate laughed at that.

The bathroom door opened, and out stepped Lorena, wearing **(****Again, go to (www).(polyvore).com and add** /lorenas_party_attire/set?id=133801084 to the end)****. "I can't believe you talked me into this." She grumbled, fidgeting with the straps of her dress.

"Oh yeah, I really had to twist your arm." Nate retorted sarcastically. He looked her up and down critically. He hummed in thought.

"What?" She asked defensively, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She felt insecure when people looked at her like that.

"Oh I was just thinking, 'She looks so cute, I'll be fighting off creeps all night.'" That was a big thing about Nate, he held nothing back. He was completely honest when the person(s) wanted him to be. Lorena had a small pink tint to her cheeks as she looked away from him, embarrassed. "Oh my goodness, I've never seen you blush before!" Nate began squishing her cheeks, "How can you be so cute? I just wanna keep you all to myself."

Michael walked out of the closet, now wearing a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a gray t-shirt. He folded up his uniform and placed it on Lorena's bed. "Calm down Nate, you're going to scare her off." He jokingly said.

"I will not," he released Lorena's face and turned towards Michael. "Looks like I'll have to be fighting off creeps for you too. Well, now we're all ready, let's go!"

Lorena was the first to leave the camera view, though they could still hear her say, "Wait, how am I going to get down the stairs in these shoes?"

The video then changed so they could see the outside of Lorena's family's mansion. The agents were in the car this was being filmed from. They saw the three leave the house quickly, get back in their car, and drive off. The agents followed. Kyoya once again skipped ahead past the car ride to when they arrived at the party.

It was at a upper-middle-class home, the agents parked across the street as the three unsuspecting friends entered the house. The agents snuck in as well.

The party looked just like one in the movies. Loud music, thirty or so teens/young adults, alcohol, the whole deal.

One step in the door, Lorena declares, "I regret coming, take me home."

She was beginning to turn around to leave when Michael caught her shoulders and turned her back around. Pulling her along, he assured her, "Come on now, you just got here. Besides, it'll be good for you, interact with people your age outside of the Host Club."

"I don't want to talk to anyone outside of the Host Club." She deadpanned. He sighed in frustration before grabbing two beers, shoving one into her hands. "You're a doctor, shouldn't you be telling me to not drink any of this crap?"

"It'll help you relax." He lamely excused, "Just don't get full on drunk, I don't wanna have to drag your ass back to your house." With that, he abandoned her to talk to people he vaguely knew.

She sighed, she was not going to have fun at this "party". Why did she even agree in the first place? Oh yeah, because she didn't want to be alone for the next 30 or so hours and she would've been forced to come anyways. She pushed her way through the crowd with her normal blank face and made her way outside. Unknown to her, Agent A followed her.

When she got outside, she looked at the cold beer bottle in her hand with disgust. No way was she gonna drink that nasty crap. She dumped it out in some bushes and went to sit in the grass. Instead, she spotted a swing set that was unoccupied. 'Convenient' she thought. She sat on the seat and began swinging lightly, just barely moving.

She stared at the stars, lost in thought. Her gaze moved to the empty swing to the right of her, she was filled with loneliness at the sight. She turned away, not able to bear it any longer.

She became lost in the vortex of memories that had been plaguing her mind recently. Both bad and good memories brought a multitude of emotions up inside her, a lot of it she didn't want to feel.

Next thing she knew, someone was tapping her on the shoulder. She looked over and saw a teenaged boy, he looked tired and possibly drunk. "Hey, party's over. You gotta scram before my folks come home." And with that he went back into his house and began cleaning up.

"'Kay." She muttered quietly, though no one was around to hear her. She stood up, her legs stiff from sitting in the same position so long, and went to find Nate and Michael. She looked all around and even asked the boy from earlier, they were no where to be found.

'They really are good for nothing.' She thought as she began walking down the street. She was furious. How could they just leave her like that? What was all that about fighting off creeps? What kind of friends were they if they just abandoned her like that? Abandoned. That was the word. That's exactly what she felt. And she hated every second of it.

Agent A followed behind her and Agent B drove their rented car away from the two.

She was walking for a while when she passed an abandoned building. It looked like an old office building of some sort.

Across the street were three hooligans/wanna-be thugs/trouble-makers. They hollered some very un-gentlemen-like things at her, walking over to get a better look.

She turned to face them head-on. "Leave me alone." She stated plainly, no 'mixed signals' there.

The closest guy said, "No need to be like that babe, we just wanna have some fun." He made to grab her shoulder, but Lorena roughly slapped his grubby hand away.

_Snap! _There went her patience, sanity, and self-control. "Don't touch me." She stated plainly again, they were only making her mood worse, though they couldn't tell by the blank look on her face.

"You're really starting to piss me off!" He then tried to grab her shoulders again, but she sidestepped him. He growled at her, murderous intent gleaming in all three guy's eyes.

Lorena glanced at the ground around her, and there, conveniently lying right next to her foot was a steel pipe. "You just signed your death warrant, bitch." The second guy leered.

Suddenly, Lorena flipped the pipe into the air with her foot and caught it. "Heh, you think that's gonna help you?" The first guy flipped out a knife, brandishing it in the air like it was some unbeatable weapon.

The smile Lorena gave them sent shivers down the Hosts's backs. It was a dark smile, showing the boiling anger just beneath the surface. She flipped the pipe in her hand, the terrifying smile still in place on her face. "This is gonna be fun." She said, tilting her head to the side.

She swung wide, and the screen went black.

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**A/N: See? Nothing too bad, right? As always, leave your thoughts, opinions, questions, etc in a review. Wow, this update was long... Well, thanks everybody!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: *groans loudly from a mountain of cushions and blankets* It's okay.. I'm alive... I'M SO SORRY *falls to the ground in hopelessness* I DON'T DESERVE TO BE CALLED AN AUTHOR! I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON! But seriously though, school's piling up, I had my toenail removed due to an infection that popped up overnight (I know, ewwww), and I'm fucking lazy, and I'm the Queen of Procrastination. But, I made myself do it, I finished this chapter. TAKE THAT WRITER'S BLOCK! But yeah, you guys deserve better than me, unfortunately, I am a lumpy potato. AND O TO THE M TO THE G, OVER 100 REVIEWS?! YOU GUYS ARE SO WONDERFUL! Special thanks go to fanfictionlover9191, Lovelygirl2712, supchild6414, ILovepenguins24, classywolf, FasterThenMyBullet, miss steal yo man, Fire3566, purplefireferret, ToshimiOkami, ArnimixJewealz, Ashlakia, , chocolvr69, I see you see, kittkattt, cloudsomniakitty, and wajagirlliz. You guys are awesome!**

**NightHunterDeath: No, she didn't hit Agent A, and you're right, they wouldn't be ab;e to hear what she's thinking. I guess I just kept switching POVs in my head, sorry about that *rubs head nervously*, I made sure not to do that this time. And you're not being a prick by pointing it out, I actually like that kind of feedback. It helps to make me a better writer, so thank you! And yes, the dress does cover her back completely, you got the right fanfic. (I tend to mix them up too).**

**storygirl99210: Thanks!**

**Zorua1: Glad you liked it so much! Sorry it took so long!**

**loopyhutton: Thanks!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: I'm so sorry it took so long! Thank you for putting up with me!**

**15samcre: Questions shall be answered! Sorry again it took so long to update!**

**ArnimixJewealz: Hahaha! Thanks, and sorry it took so long to get it to you guys!**

**Chibi-Ninja-Writer: Thank you! (Yayy sugar!) So glad you came back to continue reading my story! Sorry it took so long to get done!**

**humanentity8: I'm glad you like my story! And you're not a horrible person, thank you for informing me of this problem. You're absolutely right, they do interrupt the flow of the story and I really did try my best, but is so GOSH DARNED STUBBORN. I will describe the outfits from now on, I'm sorry you had to deal with that confusion. Again, I'm in no way upset by you asking this, I probably should've said it before that you guys could request that I just describe the clothes instead. Thanks for reviewing! Sorry it took so long!**

**wajagirlliz: Thank you so much! (And it never gets old reading reviews, they make me happy!)**

**Ah, disclaimer, I no own, you no sue.**

**And, a bit of language, but the story is Rated T so... *shrugs***

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"Ah! You're laptop broke Kyo-chan~!" Honey-sempai exclaimed, uncurling his fingers from Takashi's sleeve, he was seriously worried about Rena-chan. He could tell he wasn't the only one too.

"Don't worry, the video was just so long it had to be split into pieces. Here." He clicked onto the second half of the video he had been sent.

**~On the Video~**

Lorena swung wide and smacked the man closest to her in the side of the head with the pipe. He was unconscious instantly. The video shook violently as Agent A sprang into action. Agent A started fighting the third man as Lorena faced the second one.

From the side of the video, they could see that the pipe was flung from Lorena's hand and the man grabbed her left wrist. Using her free hand, she shoved the heel of it up into the guy's nose, effectively breaking it. He released his hold on her wrist to grab his nose when she kicked him where the sun don't shine. This sent him falling to the ground.

Agent A dispatched the guy she was fighting in a similar way. When she looked back up, Lorena was standing in front of her. "Hey," Lorena breathed, back to normal, "thanks for helping me out there. There's no way I would've been able to take out all three of those guys without being hurt myself."

"Oh, you're welcome." Agent A replied tentatively.

"By the way, why have you been following me?" Lorena asked her straightforwardly.

"Following? I'm not sure what you mean." Agent A lied smoothly.

"Please don't play games with me. I'm still trying to recover what's left of my sanity and patience. Now tell me, are you working for someone?"

Agent A stood there, stuttering like an idiot. "U-um, I-I..."

Lorena cut her off, "You know what? I'll find out myself. As for you, kindly, fuck off." She gave her one more sickly-sweet smile, turned on her heel, and stormed off, stepping over an unconscious thug.

**~End Video~**

The Hosts stood there in shock. What just happened? Never, had they ever seen Lorena so bluntly rude to anyone, even when they had difficult customers.

Silently, Tamaki drifted off from the group standing around Kyoya's laptop. While the situation with Lorena was certainly worrying, there was nothing he could do for her. Those things had already happened, and surely she would be returning soon. Yes, he had to have faith in his second daughter. For now, he had to handle one problem at a time. He had an idea. An ingenious idea that would guarantee Haruhi would want to stay at Ouran, and more importantly, the Host Club.

"Alright men! Here's the plan to keep Haruhi in the Host Club!" He exclaimed, grabbing the attention of all of the Hosts present.

* * *

**~Time Skip~**

The next day, Haruhi ignored the twins in class. The only thing she had said to them that morning was, "Lorena called me and said she would most likely be here in time for the Host Club, and for you guys to plan accordingly." That was the only thing she had said to them.

If you couldn't tell already, the twins were upset that their "toy" wasn't cooperating, though they didn't let anyone know that but each other.

They were also upset that their Lorena-chan hadn't talked to them directly at all since she left. They would definitely need to talk to her about that. Though, they were happy she was coming back so soon, the Host Club wasn't the same without her.

* * *

**~Time Skip~**

The Hosts were in costume, ready to carry out Tamaki's plan. Haruhi would arrive with the Lobelia girls within the next twenty minutes.

Kyoya's laptop dinged, signaling another video had been received. The Hosts gathered around the screen to watch.

**~On the Video~**

Lorena was just arriving back home, muttering something incomprehensible to herself.

The video cut to the camera that was attached to her bag.

She stormed into her room, throwing her heels into her closet and getting out her phone. She dialed a number and stood tapping her bare foot impatiently. The person apparently didn't pick up judging by the frustrated groan she made.

She tossed her phone onto her bed and went into the bathroom. A minute later, she came back out dressed in sweatpants and a large t-shirt. She grabbed her laptop and sat at the foot of the bed. As the laptop was turning on, she let out a sigh and slumped her shoulders, her head hung down. To the Hosts, she looked..._tired._ Exhausted even. Not just physically though, if it was even possible, she looked emotionally tired, some would say it was her soul that was tired.

Before they could think any further on this, she picked her head up and looked at her laptop, the _ding_ giving away that it had turned on completely. She got a sad look in her eyes, almost longing, and she touched the screen of her laptop. The Hosts couldn't see what it was that made her have this reaction.

Kyoya then forwarded through the video, she spent many hours on her laptop, occasionally changing positions. She got up a handful of times, though the Hosts couldn't see whatever it was that she was doing.

Suddenly the scene changed and Kyoya played it regular speed. Lorena was now in her front yard with most of her pets. The ones with her were Creature, her gray pit bull from earlier, Balthazar, a normal black and white husky, Moose, a large dark brown German shepherd, and Kanda, her red panda. She was just letting them run around on their own while she sat on a step on her phone.

She was still typing away when a car pulled up in the driveway. The car parked and turned off, and out from the driver's seat came Michael. As soon as she saw him walking up to her she stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, a frown on her face.

She began tapping her foot impatiently as he started, "Now now, I know you're mad, but we had a perfectly good reason to have left you at the party."

"Oh, I'm sure you do. But do you have a good enough reason to warrant me being attacked by rapists?" Michael stood there with his mouth hanging open, indecipherable noises coming out as he tried to process what she had just told him. "That's what I thought, who's in the car?" She walked over to the car, pointedly ignoring Michael's frozen form. She waved to someone in the front seat, presumably Nate. She looked into the back seat and took a step back in shock, confusion flickering across her face.

Nate stepped out from the passenger seat and walked around the car to Lorena. "Hey beautiful," he slung an arm around her shoulders, "Surprise!" He opened the car door and held his hand out. Tentatively, a small child took his hand and climbed out of the car, and then another one.

The first child couldn't have been older than five, she had curly blonde hair and blue eyes, she was clutching tightly a stuffed tiger to her chest. The second child was no older than eight, he had short brown hair and blue eyes as well.

"Lorena, this is Emma Graves and Adam Graves, newest additions to our little family!" He looked at her as if awaiting some sort of big reaction, but he only got a bittersweet smile and kind eyes. He seemed pleased with this reaction and continued, "We'd like you to be their godmother." She whipped her head around to face him, eyes widened with disbelief and shock. "I'm dead serious, will you?"

Her face broke out into the biggest and happiest smile as she vigorously nodded her head. She hugged him with all her might before kneeling down in front of the two children.

In the background Nate snapped Michael out of his stupor and the two filled each other in.

"Hey guys," Lorena said softly to the children in front of her. "My name is Lorena, I'm gonna be your godmother. Do you know what that means?" They shook their heads, still wary of this new person. "Well, that means I'm gonna be like a big sister. Do you know what a big sister's job is?" Again they shook their heads. "My job is to spoil you two rotten and to make sure you're always happy and healthy. Does that sound fair to you?" They nodded their heads with more energy now, seeming to trust her a little more. "I know you guys don't know me that well right now, but I hope we can become close. But for now, how about pancakes?" Excited at the prospect of food, the two smiled at her, "Alright! You guys go ahead inside and I'll be right there. Do you know how to make pancakes?" They shook their heads again, "What? Every kid should know how to make pancakes! That settles it, I'm gonna teach you both how to make pancakes. Now go on, I'll be right behind you."

The heartwarming scene ended as the two children ran eagerly into the large house. Lorena stood up again and faced the two men she called family. She gave them a famous Sam Winchester bitch-face, placing her hands on her hips in a mother's I'm-disappointed-in-you-pose. Michael approached her and dropped to his knees once he was in front of her. He hugged her around the waist and buried his face in her stomach. "We're so~ sorry Little Cub! We had no choice! If we were going to adopt Emma we had to sign the papers right away, and we couldn't separate her and her brother so we adopted them both! Please forgive us!"

She tilted her head up in mock thought, she hummed. "Only if you let me spoil your kids rotten and video chat them at least once a week."

Michael stood up suddenly, picking Lorena up and throwing her over his shoulder, "Deal!" he shouted happily. She squealed, hitting his back in protest.

"Michael Graves! You put me down right now! This was not part of our deal! Nate! Tell your boyfriend to put me down! Right now damn you!" Nate just laughed at her predicament and shook his head. Creature, Balthazar, and Moose excitedly running around Michael while looking up at their "mother". The three also went into the house.

**~Video Cuts to Inside a Car Following Someone on a Motorcycle~**

The person on the motorcycle pulled into a cemetery, parking the motorcycle next to a large oak. Pulling off the black helmet revealed blonde hair that could only be Lorena's. Lo-and-behold, when she turned around it was in fact Lorena. She left the helmet with the bike and took a paper bag out from under the seat of the motorcycle and continued on into the cemetery. Agent B followed after a minute, he was the only one that could go seeing as Agent A's cover had been blown.

When he reached the top of the hill, they could see that Lorena had found her destination and was now on her knees in front of the gravestone. Agent B stealthily made his way over to a random gravestone a couple rows behind her, though not too far away so they could still eavesdrop.

For a second the Hosts wondered whether or not this was right, but their curiosity won out in the end. They rationalized it by thinking that they were just making sure their friend was okay.

"Hey Jenna." Lorena started, longing and grief filling her voice. "Sorry no flowers this time, I had something come up on short notice, but I'll make it up to you. Um, you probably want to know what's been happening since last time..." She paused, taking in a deep breath. "As you know, I moved to Japan. I'm attending a place called Ouran Academy. I met some..._interesting_ people there. First is Haruhi, she's really nice and accepting, I like to think of her as a close friend. Next are..identical twins if you can believe it. Hikaru and Kaoru. Most people can't tell them apart, but Haruhi and I can. Hikaru is a troublemaker, little trickster will try and pull somethin' on ya if you don't keep on your toes. Kaoru's also a troublemaker, though he's generally nicer about it than Hikaru. Next is Tamaki, the idiot king. He's a chipper little Frenchie that likes to make drama out of nothing." Queue Tamaki going to his corner of woe. "But..." He perked his head up, "he tries to make everyone happy, _really_ tries, and that's admirable... But don't let him hear you say that," she laughed, "he'll never let you live it down. Next is Kyoya, the Shadow King, he manages the club. Uh, they're all in this Host Club thing, I had no idea what it was and ended up looking a fool. Anyways, he can be a real slave driver, but he won't make you do anything you're uncomfortable with, which is good. And last but not least, Honey and Takashi. Honey is the cutest little seventeen year old you'll ever meet with a sweet tooth even bigger than mine, believe it or not. And Takashi, the silent giant. He's Honey's cousin, also seventeen, and has a serious protective side. Trust me, you do not want to get on his bad side, he will _mess you up_. I've seen him slice a wooden dummy in half in the blink of an eye. I don't know how he can keep a straight face half the time with all the shenanigans the Host Club gets into."

She sighed. "They're a bunch of weirdos... Though by far the weirdest thing they've done is let me join them. Without even a real reason, they let me into their little family, if you could call it that. And I've done nothing to deserve their kindness. I don't talk most of the time, I'm moody as all hell half the time, I'm not especially smart or funny, I don't have any special talent they could need or even want.. I'm just not..._necessary_."

She paused her rant for a minute, seemingly content with the silence. She sighed again, "I have to leave soon. I've got to go back to Japan." She took a shuddering breath, on the verge of tears her voice cracked, "It's still so hard, going on without you. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I don't know how much longer I can go on without you." A broken sob escaped her lips before she could swallow it back down, she wiped away the tears on her face. "There's a hole inside of me that I fear is going to eat me up and I won't feel or think anything. I don't wanna go back to that." Her voice was pleading, she rested her forehead on the gravestone.

She spent the next minute just calming her breathing and the Hosts used that minute to process everything.

"I gotta get going soon or I'm gonna be late. Oh, yeah, almost forgot your birthday cake." From the paper bag, Lorena pulled out a clear plastic food container. She opened it and unceremoniously dumped the slice of cake onto the ground in front of the gravestone. She stood up, clearing her throat as if she hadn't just been pouring her heart out to a stone. "Well, till next time, Jenna." And then she walked away without so much as a glance back.

Once she was out of sight, Agent B stood up and went closer to the gravestone. Engraved on the marble gravestone was, "Jenna Darrow, Beloved Daughter, Taken much too soon."

**~End Video~**

A few seconds of silence filled the room as the Hosts digested this information. The silence was interrupted by none other than the Shadow King himself, "That was certainly interesting. According to the time that that was filmed, Lorena-chan should be here within the hour. But for now, Haruhi and the ladies from Lobelia will be here any minute. Let's not disappoint them."

As soon as they turned the lights down and had Renege ready to lift them again and got into position when the doors creaked open to reveal Haruhi and the Lobelia ladies.

**~Time Skip~**

Lorena had landed in Japan around ten minutes ago and had just arrived at Ouran. If she hurried, she would be just on time for the Host Club. She was also definitely sure that it was Kyoya that had hired people to follow her in America. And she was livid. How _dare_ he invade her privacy like that. He had no _right_. Once club was over, she was gonna let hell break loose, no holding back. And while she didn't want to believe it, she also had the feeling that he had told everyone else in the Host Club about what he'd learned of her adventures in America.

She reached the doors of Music Room #3 and heard hysterias laughter on the other side of them. It sounded like Haruhi, but what could've gotten her to laugh so hard? Had she finally cracked? Lorena cracked the door open and cautiously pushed it open.

What was on the other side was not what she was expecting at _all_. She first saw Haruhi rolling on the ground laughing, then three unfamiliar girls in a different uniform, and then-

Lorena stood there in shock, a second was all it took to snap out of it. She tried her hardest not to laugh or smile, her lips twitched and she bit her lip hard, but nothing worked. She put a hand over her mouth, trying to hide the smile blooming on her face, but it was all in vain. Next thing she knew, she was rolling on the ground, laughing so hard her sides were splitting and tears were running down her face, she was gasping for breath and her facial muscles hurt, but she just couldn't stop laughing. In front of her, the Hosts-all excepting Takashi-were dressed as girls, with dresses and wigs and make-up. It was all too much to handle. She definitely wasn't expecting _that_ when she walked through the doors.

Now, all the attention was on Lorena. Her entrance was unnoticed until she broke down laughing. They had never seen her laugh so much, or look so genuinely happy, not even when she was reunited with Michael just days ago.

After a straight minute and a half of rolling around laughing at them, Lorena finally calmed down enough to stand up and address them properly. Through her residual giggles, she managed to get out, "What is going on? Is this what you guys really do when I'm not here?" She couldn't help but tease them, it was just _too damn funny_.

Before anyone could answer the question, Honey ran up to Lorena and asked excitedly, "Rena-chan, do I look pretty? You can call me onee-chan! Say it! Say it!" This sent her in another fit of giggles. She slipped her phone out of her pocket and started taking pictures of them all. _After all_ she thought _it's not true unless there's a picture, right?_

While the Hosts posed for the few pictures she took, she was forced to put away her phone when one of the unknown ladies approached her angrily. "Who're you?! Do you also attend this joke of a club?!" Lorena scrutinized the girl. She was tall, brunette, thin, and held a graceful demeanor.

Lorena cleared her throat, her previous anger writhing beneath her skin, wanting desperately to lash out at this rude stranger. "My name's Lorena Darrow, and yes, I am a member of the Host Club. Who're you? More importantly, who're you to say that this club is a joke?"

Whatever shock the girl felt, she got over it quickly. "We are the Zuka Club! From the prestigious school, Lobelia Academy! I am Benio Amakusa, leader of the Zuka Club."

"Ohhh," Lorena sighed, "Lobelia Academy, all girls school right? My dad tried to make me go there, but I didn't agree with a lot of things. For example, that women are superior to men, I think that everyone's equal, no matter where they come from, what religion they practice, those types of things."

"Yeah, what kind of super-feminist ideal is that?" Hikaru asked, pausing from chasing Haruhi around the room.

"That, Hikaru, is not feminism. Feminism is about equality for everyone. They practice misandry, which is something I'm not personally okay with." Hikaru nodded in understanding, then went back to chasing Haruhi around.

Benio was red in the face, obviously about to blow a gasket at the girl who not only dressed more like a guy than a girl, but also confessed at completely disagreeing with all of her opinions. She was interrupted, however, by Tamaki pouncing on Lorena and crushing her in a big hug. He was spouting off some nonsense about how he "missed his darling daughter" and "never was she allowed to leave them ever again."

"Put me down or I'll pinch you!" Lorena threatened, only to be ignored, continuing to be spun around in dizzying circles. "Someone help!" She called out. She was then saved by none other than Takashi, as he began walking back to where he was before, she snickered, "What? No dress Takashi?" She giggled, "Could you not find one in your size?" She began full-on laughing again as he shot her a glare saying, 'I'll drop you'. He loosened his grip on her, letting her drop a few inches suddenly and she squealed. "Okay I'm sorry!" When he got back to standing over next to Kyoya, she turned her head and glared daggers at him. He met her gaze coolly. "I have words for you. Later."

"I look forward to it." He retorted with an ounce of smugness.

Lorena managed to get herself down safely and watched the show as Haruhi shot down the Lobelia girls, snorting when they left and slipped on banana peels. It was a shame she didn't have popcorn to go with it.

Apparently, Host Club activities had been canceled for the day, one less thing to worry about. However, her mood only worsened, for she knew that this allowed her "discussion" with Kyoya to come earlier, and what should end up to be a pretty messy fight. She was in no way looking forward to it, nor wanted it to happen, but she couldn't just let him get away with this. It was a serious invasion of privacy, and he was sticking his nose in something he shouldn't have been. No, no way was he going to get off the hook about this. It was almost unforgiveable.

And Lord knows, she didn't forgive easily.

* * *

**A/N: Holy shit this was long. But it's also a sort of apology for my horrible-ness. Not much else to say here... Well, everyone have a Happy Halloween and be safe! **


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Hello! I'm back! I've officially changed the summary to say "No regular updates" as I don't see myself getting into a regular schedule again, sorry guys! Take this super long chapter as an apology! Seriosly though, this thing's at least twice the size it should be, but I just couldn't find a good place to stop it! So, that's why I am finishing up the episode _and_ doing a _whole other episode_ in this chapter! That, and my depression has been kicking me ruthlessly, but that isn't important to you guys, the update is! Special thanks go to monsibaisamaya, K.C. 96, KanayaAmayaJade3, dancerchick98, scarletbleedsforyou, Shadowwolf Birdsong, AmyBoboNguyen, Leftfordead1, dark chocolate thunda, WhiteLily.R, Miss OtterDiva, Little Juniper Tree, and pervychan1 for following and faving!**

**storygirl99210: Thank you!**

**NightHunterDeath: Here it is!**

**Chibi-Ninja-Writer: Heh.. Sorry about that! School's been a b*tch.**

**15samcre: Thank you! As for the adoption, I know nothing about the process to adopt someone, so I sorta just went with it (shh don't tell anyone!).**

**Zorua1: I love that you enjoy my story so much!**

**YuYuHakushoObsesser: Thank you thank you thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OCs and their stories!**

**Oh yeah, **Trigger Warning** there is mention of a house fire and pain. (Not sure if this is necessary but just in case, better safe then sorry eh?)**

* * *

As the other Hosts changed into normal clothes and removed their makeup, Haruhi started talking to Lorena.

"Hey," Haruhi hugged her. "I'm glad you're back. That was really sudden, is everything okay?"

"Sorry about that, everything's fine. I just had to visit someone really important to me. Usually I visit her on my birthday, but I was with you guys. I think she was okay though, with me being a day late." Haruhi looked at her with confusion. "I'll tell you everything later, I've gotta deal with them first."

"Please tell me they didn't go through with the video spying thing?" Haruhi sighed exasperatedly. She hung her head in defeat when Lorena nodded.

"You don't have to stay on my account. I'm sure you have things to do at home." Lorena assured her.

"No, I'll stay. I have to admit, I'm curious to see how you'll handle this. But don't be too hard on them, they were just worried about you. We all were." Haruhi patted her on the shoulder one more time and moved behind a couch a safe distance away when she saw the guys emerging from the changing rooms.

The tension could be cut with a knife as Lorena turned to face the boys. She placed a hand on her hip and tapped her foot as she awaited their most likely rehearsed apology.

When no one said anything, she sighed. "Look," she began, "I want to know who had a part in all this?" Slowly, all the Hosts-excepting Haruhi-raised their hands. She sighed again, there was no way she could let this go. "Okay." She had the full attention of everyone in the room. "Coming here, I was fully prepared to leave the Host Club for good." At this Tamaki wailed and collapsed to the ground. "But," he picked his head up in hope, "I won't do that." The twins cheered and Tamaki stopped crying. "Only because you guys made me laugh harder today than I have in years." They all looked relieved, thinking that was the end of it. "But don't think you've been let off the hook. I will have no part in any extra activities with you guys outside the Host Club, the only person who shall be my friend is Haruhi. You all will have to earn back my trust. Not buy, earn. It's seriously messed up you guys invaded my personal life like that. I won't forgive you guys easily."

Tamaki went to his corner of woe, joined by Honey. "Don't you think that's a little overkill?" Hikaru tried to reason with her.

"Yeah," Kaoru joined in with his brother, "we were just worried about you."

"You know what normal people do when they're worried about someone? They call them! They don't send someone to follow them around and report on very private matters."

"Two people, actually." Hikaru and Kaoru stomped on Tamaki's feet. "And it was videotaped-" they slapped their hands over his mouth, preventing him from saying anything else and getting them into any more trouble.

Lorena crossed her arms over her chest, "Videotaped? Well isn't that just peachy. I don't suppose you'd like to tell me exactly how much you saw?" She tried her best not to yell at them or make her growing anger obvious in her voice.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up, "All of it." He stated plainly, as if he were commenting on the weather.

Lorena locked her jaw and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. It didn't work. If he says they saw everything, then she has to believe him. After all, they had no reason to keep anything from her, they couldn't possibly make it any worse. She didn't want to ask them if they had heard what she had said to Jenna at the cemetery, cause if they hadn't they'd do anything to find out what. But if they did... Suddenly a private conversation just became not so private.

Lorena looked at Kyoya with a look that would have even the toughest ruffians running scared. "You. You hired them, didn't you?" She was sure she knew the answer already.

"That is correct." He replied coolly, waiting to see what would happen next.

"You're at the top of my shit-list then. You so much as look at me funny and I assure you they'll never find your body. Clear?"

He smirked at her threat, amused by her words. "Crystal."

Out of patience and energy, Lorena finished, "Okay." And with that, she turned and left, Haruhi not too far behind her.

**~Time Skip~**

That night, Lorena slept fitfully. She was reliving a memory, specifically the one that earned her the large burn scar that wrapped around her left side.

**~In the Dream~**

Lorena was walking home with Jenna. Snow piled on the ground and ice bordering the sidewalks. She looked at Jenna, who was saying something to her. She was too blurry to see, her words not making any sense, only sounds. It was an old memory, the details had faded over time.

After a minute of walking, Lorena smelled smoke, a lot of it too. There they saw it, right in front of them, a house was ablaze. The firemen hadn't arrived yet, and Jenna started to call 911 just in case. Lorena was unsure what she could do.

Just when she was about to move herself and Jenna farther away from the smoke and fire she heard a cry. It was faint, just barely heard over the roaring flames. For a minute she thought she had imagined it, but then she heard it again, this time a little louder.

"Someone's in there! Jenna, stay here!" Lorena then dropped her bag and ran to the front door of the house. She faintly remembered Jenna yelling after her. She stopped briefly to wrap her scarf around her nose and mouth, then made her way into the house.

The heat was almost unbearable, but a cry from the back room made her go on. She ran down a hallway to what looked like it used to be a living room. The furniture was on fire and the television was melting. "Help!" The voice cried out again, she looked to her left and saw a young boy, no older than 6 trapped on an end table. He was gonna suffocate if she didn't get him out quick. The problem was, there was a huge support beam lying in between them, and there was no way he could jump over to her. Her mind raced, trying to find some other way to get to him, but there was none.

"Hey!" She yelled to him, he looked up and saw her. He again cried for help. "I'm gonna get you out of here! But you have to jump!" He shook his head wildly, it was only now she noticed he had tears streaming down his blackened face, she just hoped he wasn't too scared to move. "You have to trust me! I promise you'll make it! I will catch you!" He hesitated, seeing no other option, he got to his feet and prepared himself to jump. "Ready?" She called out to him, arms outstretched, waiting to catch him. He nodded his head. "Now!" She shouted, at the precise moment he jumped towards her, she leaned her body over on top of the burning beam.

She screamed as it seared her flesh. She caught him. Pain clouded her vision, she couldn't breathe with all the smoke. The boy was on the brink of unconsciousness as well.

Running as fast as she could in her condition with the boy in her arms, she had just made it to the doorway when the house let out ominous splintering sounds. It was collapsing.

She limped her way across the yard about fifteen feet away from the burning house when she couldn't hold on anymore, she collapsed, the pain too great.

Vaguely, she remembered Jenna screaming, the sirens of emergency vehicles, and the crying of the boy she had saved. So she lay there, choked, covered in soot, and crippled with pain. The cold snow contrasting greatly with her charred side. She could go no further, and relented to the sweet temptation of unconsciousness.

**~End Dream~**

Lorena awoke with a start, breathing hard and sweating like she just ran a marathon. She could feel the heat on her skin from the fire. And her side, oh how it burned. It was the worst of all. She threw off her covers and pulled up her shirt to see it. It looked no different, but it certainly didn't feel that way.

This had happened a handful of times before. She'd have a dream of a memory in which she had gotten hurt, and then awoke to that ghost of a feeling that it was.

She remembered how furious Jenna was with her. But her anger didn't last long, after all, she saved that little boy's life. Apparently, the house had fully collapsed just after she had come running out with him. He would've been killed instantly most likely.

She was told later on that the fire had originated in the kitchen. Apparently, their grandfather with Alzheimers had left their gas stove on, which had lit some papers on the counter on fire. Luckily, the boy was the only one in the house.

She sighed and went into the bathroom to take a shower. She stripped off her shorts and tank top and stepped into the shower. She started it off cold, to cool down her skin. Once she was a more normal temperature, she changed it to hot and began cleaning herself.

When she was done and dressed, she looked at the clock and saw she had about fifteen minutes to get to school. Not in the mood for food, she left.

**~Time Skip~**

During class, the twins learned what Lorena meant when she said she would have no "extra activities" with them. She didn't say a word to them the whole day. She wouldn't even acknowledge their presence! The only person she interacted with was Haruhi.

"Just give her a few days," they said to each other, "there's no way she can keep this up. No one's that stubborn."

But they were wrong. Even during the Host Club, she ignored everyone except her customers and Haruhi. Again, they thought she'd return to normal in a day or so.

But they were wrong again. She kept it up for the next few _weeks._ She was relentless!

Today, Lorena was going to spend the whole day with Haruhi. Obviously, being the only one she was around, Lorena and Haruhi grew even closer as friends.

In fact, Lorena was even thinking of showing Haruhi her scars _voluntarily._ She could only hope Haruhi's reaction would be similar to Honey's. Of course, she knew that Haruhi was a good person and only judged people based on their quality of character. But then again, Lorena had seen people flip at the drop of a hat.

After all, you can never know the true value of a person until you put them in a situation that calls for their best.

She had decided, she was gonna do it. She was going to trust Haruhi and show her. It was a huge risk, and she would be very vulnerable. But she had to have faith in her friend.

Now, Lorena was waiting for Haruhi back at her apartment. She was out at the grocery store. She had jimmied the flimsy lock on her door and let herself in. She had brought her guitar with her, practicing as she waited for Haruhi to get back. She hadn't played since she had arrived at Japan and seriously needed to practice. She also didn't want to lose the callouses on her fingers.

Lorena was wearing ripped jeans, a long-sleeved black off-the-shoulder top, a light colored beanie, a layer of lip gloss on her lips, and her angel wing necklace that was over her shirt today instead of under it, like it usually was. She had left her white converse at the door.

She started strumming along to a song called Thistle and Weeds by Mumford and Sons. She sang along.

_Spare me your judgments,_

_Spare me your dreams,_

'_Cause recently mine have been tearing my seams._

_I sit alone in this winter clarity which clouds my mind._

_Alone in the wind and the rain you left me,_

_It's getting dark darling, too dark to see,_

_And I'm on my knees and your faith in shreds it seems._

_Corrupted by the simple sniff of riches blown,_

_I know you have felt much more love than you've shown._

_And I'm on my knees and the water creeps to my chest._

_But plant your hope with good seeds,_

_Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds,_

_Rain down, rain down on me._

_Look over your hills and be still,_

_The sky above us shoots to kill,_

_Rain down, rain down on me._

_But I will hold on,_

_I will hold on hope._

_I begged you to hear me, there's more than flesh and bones._

_Let the dead bury the dead, they will come out in droves._

_But take the spade from my hands and fill in the holes you've made._

_But plant your hope with good seeds,_

_Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds._

_Rain down, rain down on me._

Someone cleared their throat behind her. She whipped around to find an exasperated Haruhi and the rest of the Host Club.

Lorena narrowed her eyes at the Hosts and turned back around to put away her guitar.

"How did you get in?" Haruhi asked her curiously, setting down her bags.

"It's not that hard to pick your lock, just jimmy it the right way and it pops right open. You should really get a better one. Maybe even a deadbolt if you're feeling fancy." Lorena responded easily, as if breaking and entering was something she did normally.

The guys let themselves in, asking something about slippers. Lorena was trying her hardest to ignore them.

Lorena closed her guitar case and stood to leave. "Did you need something, Rena-chan?" Haruhi asked her, starting to worry about why she would come over so suddenly.

"Oh, I was gonna talk to you about something, but it can wait."

She had made it to the door when Haruhi latched onto her arm. She whispered to her, "If I'm stuck with them, so are you." Lorena didn't like the evil glint in her eyes. Lorena made a whiny noise in her throat when Haruhi turned her around and started to push her back to the sitting area that the rest of the Hosts were occupying. "You need to make up. Stop being so stubborn." She sat her down between Honey and Kyoya and left to finish the tea.

Not a good idea, considering Kyoya was at the top of her To-Kill-List. Things were tense, until Honey broke the silence. "You have a really good singing voice, Rena-chan!"

Haruhi sat down with the tray of cups as he said that. "He's right, you're good." She agreed.

"Nah, I'm not that good. I'll admit I'm not bad, but I'm not great either. Just average." Lorena answered Haruhi.

"In any case, it was nice. We've never heard you sing before. And I never knew you could play the guitar either." Haruhi continued.

"I'm just full of surprises." Lorena joked as she flipped her hair over her shoulder dramatically. She sipped her tea that Haruhi had handed her. "This is yummy, did you get a new tea?" She ignored the fact that she had seen the twins give it to her.

"Uh, yeah. It's my first time trying it out. I'm glad you like it." Haruhi answered awkwardly, not sure what to do now.

Honey once again broke the tension by offering Haruhi first pick of the cake he brought. She took a strawberry piece and the others took their own as well. Lorena ended up having a rich chocolate piece of cake. Meanwhile, the twins and Tamaki were going on about not offending Haruhi and her "commoner ways." Lorena had to restrain herself from laughing at their stupidity.

Then Takashi began giving his strawberries to Haruhi, saying, "You like strawberries, right?" Lorena was internally going 'Awww, he's so sweet.'

"Yes!" Haruhi answered happily, "Thank you!" She was so adorable. The three idiots then began wailing about how they didn't think of that first like no one else was in the room. They were ignored.

A few minutes later everyone had finished their cake. Then they decided to impose more on Haruhi by asking about lunch. Lorena saw a chance to escape, but things had to go the way she wanted them to.

"We're the ones who dropped in on you unexpectedly, so we'll pay for lunch." Kyoya said while standing up. "Why not order some of your favorite sushi or something?" He suggested.

Haruhi was quick to object. "No, that's okay. I don't want to add to my debt."

He pulled out a gold credit card. "Not to worry, the money is coming from the pictures of you we auctioned off."

"So I really am paying for it?" Haruhi hung her head. "All right, I have a friend who runs a nice sushi shop nearby, so I'll give them a call. They have some real high quality stuff."

Tamaki got a weird look on his face as he quickly wrote a note and not so subtly handed it to her. Haruhi read the note aloud, "Even if the sushi pack says Premium on it, you can't call it 'high quality.' Be very careful." She crumpled it up and threw it in the trash can. "I know. I'm not stupid." She angrily replied. Tamaki freaked out again.

Cutely, Honey approached Haruhi. "I'd like to have something made by Haru-chan~." Now it was the twins that were freaking out.

"That's fine. But it'll take some time to make." She replied, already thinking about what she could make for all of them.

"That's fine! We'll wait!" He cried out happily, raising his arms into the air triumphantly.

"Ah, I'll have to go to the supermarket again," she remarked. Lorena saw her chance. She could go with her to the supermarket, then, when they were passing her apartment building, she would run and lock herself in! Perfect!

Her thoughts were interrupted when she was hauled up by her arms by the twins who were chanting 'Commoner's Supermarket.' Her guitar case was being left behind, but she could come back later to get it.

On the way down to ground level, the group passed Ranka, Haruhi's transvestite father. Lorena nodded her head in greeting as she was being hauled by the two devils. Soon enough, the twins turned around to see what was taking Tamaki so long, still dragging Lorena as they did so.

"Hey boss, what's taking you so long?" Hikaru asked as the three of them poked their heads in through the open door.

"Woah, check it out. That person we passed was Haruhi's father." Kaoru remarked.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! Rena-chan! Help me out here!" Tamaki begged, he was being held to the ground by Ranka's foot.

The twins jumped in immediately. "It's nice to meet you, Haruhi's dad. We're good friends if your daughter, the Hitachiin brothers." They greeted simultaneously while stepping on Tamaki.

"So you're a transvestite, aren't you?" Kaoru asked.

"You're the first real transvestite we've ever seen." Hikaru added.

"You finally put the moves on Haruhi, huh Boss?" They went back to unison.

"Sorry about him, he's a ladies man, if you know what I mean. He's a pheromone machine. In fact, I'll bet he's fooled around with more ladies than you can count." They deviously informed him.

A tick mark appeared on Ranka's face. "He like to fool around, huh?" Lorena knew first-hand how Ranka could be about his daughter, he was the definition of over-protective.

"No!" Tamaki protested loudly, getting himself up off of the ground and into a sitting position. "I'm not a ladies man! I'm a nice guy, I care about her!"

_Is he confessing his love?_ The twins and Lorena thought at the same time.

"I'm being completely honest here, I care about Haruhi like she's my own daughter." Tamaki professed. Lorena face-palmed. He truly was an idiot.

Everyone gathered around the table again to properly meet Haruhi's dad.

"I get it, you must be the Host Club I've heard so much about. You certainly are a fine looking bunch of young men! I'm not sure which of you I like best. What about you dear? I tell you what, why don't you boys go ahead and call me Ranka? That's the professional name I use at the transvestite bar I work at." Ranka happily babbled.

"Professional name? You mean like a stage name?" Honey asked.

"Exactly like that Mitsukuni." He replied.

"Hold on, how did you know my name, sir?"

Ranka chuckled, he then proved that he knew everyone's names and years. Of course, he had known Lorena for much longer as she frequently came over to study or hang out with Haruhi.

"What? So Haruhi told you about us?" Hikaru asked, a little shocked.

"No, Kyoya told me about you over the phone~!" Kyoya smiled at him.

"You know you really are a beautiful person, Ranka." Kyoya complimented.

"Say what?!" Everyone else exclaimed at the same time.

"Kyoya.." Tamaki grabbed his shoulder from his corner of woe.

"We've been entrusted with the care of his precious daughter, it is only natural we introduce ourselves and give him periodic reports. Ordinarily, that would be your job, wouldn't it?" Kyoya jabbed.

"I'm impressed the club has such a capable president. But wait a minute, you're only the vice-president aren't you Kyoya? I guess that president of yours is pretty much good for nothing, huh?" Ranka also jabbed at Tamaki.

"You never mentioned this to me dad! Why didn't you say that you've been getting calls from Kyoya-senpai!" Haruhi practically yelled.

"Well what am I supposed to do Haruhi? You rarely tell me anything about school!" Ranka whined.

"So that makes it okay to talk behind my back?! Come on Senpai would you please stop growing mushrooms in other people's closets?!"

As Ranka gushed over his daughter, Lorena poked Kyoya's shoulder harshly. "Does this mean you're also talking to my dad as well?"

"Hmm? You're breaking your oath of silence?" He goaded her.

"Just answer the question." Lorena dead-panned.

"Your father is difficult to reach as he is a busy man. Because of this, I keep in touch with your older sister, Elena-san. She's a wonderful person." Kyoya pushed up his glasses and smirked at her annoyed expression.

Lorena narrowed her eyes at him when Ranka asked, "Wait! Haruhi, where are you going?"

"The supermarket, alright? I have to go shopping and I wanna do it by myself. So all of you just stay here and try to behave yourselves." Haruhi sounded a little annoyed still.

"Wait! I'm coming with you! There's some things I need as well!" Lorena rushed at her, determined not to be left behind. She was going to escape!

"Fine, but only you." Haruhi relented.

They walked down the street for a minute or so when Lorena spotted her apartment building coming up. She had to be smooth to get away successfully.

Haruhi was muttering to herself, still annoyed that her dad hadn't told her about the phone calls.

"You know, I actually left my wallet in my apartment, maybe I should just..." Before even finishing her sentence, Lorena made a mad dash for her apartment. She heard Haruhi yelling at her to come back, but no footsteps. She got to her door and hastily unlocked it, flew inside, and slammed the door shut.

Sure that no one would bother her now, she sighed and went to the window above her sink kitchen. She watched as Haruhi continued down the street towards the supermarket. Then she saw the rest of the Club and Haruhi's dad following her from a distance. Should she tell Haruhi? Nah.

Lorena took off her beanie and went to her room. So much for telling Haruhi today. She had to do it soon or she'd talk herself out of it.

Sighing again, Lorena flopped down onto her bed, looking at the ceiling. Her laptop dinged, and she looked at the email. It read:

_Dearest Lorena,_

_I would like you to seriously think about moving back home to America. Theresa has expressed her concern over your well-being. She believes that you are in an important stage of your development and should be able to reach your full potential at home where you are with your family. I too believe this to be true. While it is technically your choice, I urge you to do this. It is for your sake as much as it is mine. _

_It is of Theresa's opinion that staying in Japan will only do you harm. She has informed me that you are not truly happy where you are and you aren't getting your proper attention and care. _

_If you were to return home, I promise that things will be different. Please consider these things._

_With love,_

_Your father._

_"_What a bunch of bull!" Lorena shouted at her laptop. Creature came running into the room, alert for any immediate threats. Lorena patted the side of her bed and let him jump up to join her. She snuggled with him for comfort instantly. "It's not fair, Creature. Somehow she knows. Somehow she knows that I'm actually becoming happy here. That I have friends that I value and who value me, even if only a little. And now she want to take that away from me too." A tear escaped her eye and ran into Creature's soft gray fur. He whined and looked at her with sad eyes. "It's okay, though." She scratched his head. "I won't leave here. Not when I've found this bit of peace. I haven't felt this content in a long while. No way am I going to let her take that away from me." She looked out of her window at the sky. "I won't let her." Creature lowered his head and closed his eyes, calm now.

* * *

**A/N: So? Did it suck? Feel free to leave an opinion or any questions, but no pressure. SUPER IMPORTANT INFO: If you would like to go to my Polyvore account to look at Lorena's outfits, they are on there. The username is dragonheart4568. Yes, include the 8 as well. I tried to get the same username, but it just wouldn't let me (grr..). The outfits are labeled by chapters that they are in, so if you wanna go back and look at them...or not. Your choice. Anyways, hope everyone is enjoying the cold weather (I sure am!). Alright, I can't think of anything else to say so.. Good night all!**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Hello again! So, finals week was hell, but now it's winter break! Yay! And I know, I'm a piece of trash for keeping you guys waiting so long, hopefully the next update won't take as long. Special thanks go to ****lunarestings, Fragile Mercy, justaislinn, setsunaxx, Fairy-lover123, ryu-f, kana-yamamoto, Secret Companion, crazy1person2you3been4warned, abblesindatardis, Sammsis, Sadie Pearce, TwilightMelodiac, brit2014, Futago no Akuma Shimai, and Utau54 for following and faving!**

**justaislinn: Thanks for the feedback! And yeah, I'm sure everyone is ready for Rena to stop being so stubborn. :)**

**Secret Companion: Thanks! And yeah, I'm sticking to 3rd person, sorry it was so confusing at first, took me a while to get the hang of it. I'll most likely end up re-writing those first few chapters.**

**abblesindatardis: Sorry it took so long! As for your theory, I am not at liberty to either confirm or deny it. Seriously, they won't let me... *sweats nervously***

**YuYuHakushoObsesser: Sorry it took so long!**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Ouran, alas, I do not, only my OCs.**

* * *

In order to keep from talking herself out of showing Haruhi part of her past, Lorena went over to Haruhi's house the next day. Ranka was working and the Hosts were no longer bothering them. She eventually reached their door, without hesitation, she knocked. Haruhi let her in and made some tea for the two of them.

They talked about trivial things for a while, then Lorena took a deep breath and started. "Haruhi, you've been a great friend to me, and I feel I can trust you..." She paused, not exactly sure how she should go about this.

"Lorena?" Haruhi asked worriedly. She put a hand on Lorena's comfortingly. "What is it? Is everything okay? You know you can tell me anything."

Lorena breathed deeply before looking up into Haruhi's eyes. It was hard to not doubt how her friend would react. She'd never shown anyone her scars voluntarily, she was afraid that they would hate her. She smiled at her friend and continued, "I want to show you something. But I'll be honest, I'm scared of how you'll react."

Haruhi came around the table to give her a sideways hug. "You know you can tell me anything." She said again.

Lorena gulped, she decided to just do it quickly. Just rip the band-aid off, right? She turned to face Haruhi and lifted her shirt, looking away from her friend and preparing for the worst. When she heard her gasp of horror, she clenched her eyes shut tightly, a few tears managing to escape and slide down her cheeks. She had just gotten a foot under herself, about to rush out when she felt arms clutch her torso tightly and Haruhi's head buried in her shoulder. She felt the wetness of tears, and they weren't hers. Haruhi was crying? Why?

She lowered her shirt back down and pushed her back so she could see her face. Haruhi's eyes were filled with tears. "Wha- Why are you crying Haruhi?" Lorena asked hesitantly. Did she hate her that much? What if she never wanted to see her again?

Lorena's irrational thoughts were interrupted by Haruhi's words. "I'm angry!" Lorena shrunk back, her worst fear was happening. "I'm angry you had to go through so much pain!" Lorena looked up hopefully. "But I'm also happy. I'm happy that you can trust me enough to show me this. It was incredibly brave of you, Rena-chan." Haruhi truly was proud of her, and her body language showed that to Lorena as well.

Lorena smiled at her best friend. A huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, and the crushing fear and dread vanished. She'd done it. She had trusted her heart to someone, and it wasn't destroyed. Maybe things would change now. For the better.

**~Time Skip~**

Lorena sighed as she entered the Host Club. Just one more hour, then she could go home and maybe get some sleep. Lorena hadn't been sleeping well lately. This was mainly because of the stress of both her father and her stepmother pressuring her to move back to America, that and the work she did for her family's company, school, and trying to figure out how she could get back on good terms with the other Hosts. Her pride prevented her from giving in on her own. Although, things were becoming normal again all on their own, slowly but surely. She was content to just leave it at that.

She set her bag down in the changing rooms and went back out to help set up. She was carrying a tray of sandwiches when her phone started buzzing in her back pocket. She set the tray down on a small table and looked at the caller ID. It was her father. Great. She was about to decline the call when she thought, 'Dad never calls me during school. It might be important. Then again, it might be another attempt to persuade me to return.' She answered it, just in case it really was important.

**~Haruhi's POV~**

I saw Lorena pull her phone out and answer it. She quickly walked into the food storage/kitchen area. I was curious, but I didn't want to betray her trust by eavesdropping. I knew how hard it was for her to trust people. If she wanted to tell me, she would.

**~Back to 3rd Person POV~**

Lorena walked slowly back out into the main room, her eyes distant, as if she were trying to process something. Worried for her friend, Haruhi approached her. "What's wrong, Rena-chan? Is everything okay?"

Lorena saw the worry in her eyes, she smiled reassuringly at her. "It's nothing. I don't want to burden you with my problems."

"You know you can tell me anything." Haruhi assured her, worry still creasing her face.

Lorena dropped the fake smile, looking at her feet for a second before facing Haruhi again. Not knowing how to properly word it, she decided to just come out and say it. "My mother died an hour ago."

Haruhi was shocked, her eyes widened and a hand went over her mouth. The other Hosts went silent, Lorena hadn't noticed until now that they were all observing their conversation. Haruhi's eyes began to water in empathy. "Oh... Lorena I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay," Lorena assured her, wiping away her friend's unshed tears. "I didn't know her at all." She smiled as if to emphasize that she was, in fact, alright.

"You.. Didn't know her?" Haruhi wondered. She realized what she had said, "Oh, it's none of my business."

Lorena laughed lightly at her friend's antics. "It's alright, I don't mind talking about it." She lead her to a nearby couch and waved the others over as well. She knew they'd want to know too. "My mother disappeared after she gave birth to Elena, my older sister, remember her? She must've come back because four years later... Here I am!" She joked. "Anyways, as soon as I popped out, she was gone again." Everyone looked at her with pity. "My dad never wanted to talk about her, he really did love her, so her leaving hurt him deeply."

"Wahh~!" Honey cried as he hugged her tightly. "Poor Rena-chan!"

"What was her name?" Hikaru and Kaoru encouraged her.

"Iris Boone." Lorena answered them.

"Wait, Boone? Not as in-" Hikaru started.

Lorena cut him off, "Yes. Boone as in Boone Industrial Company." Kyoya whipped out his laptop and began typing quickly. "Where did you even get that?" Lorena sweatdropped only to be ignored.

Kyoya educated everyone, "Ah, that's why I recognize the name. Boone Industrial Company is the largest Industrial Company in the Northern Hemisphere, they also dabble in shipping."

"Yep. And apparently I'm in her will. Since she owned the whole company, she could do whatever she wanted with it. My father is going to send me a copy of it through an e-mail." Just as she said this, her phone buzzed again, signaling she received an e-mail. "And there it is. I'll look at it once we're done hosting."

"Nonsense! Look at it now!" Hikaru and Kaoru jumped up and down in excitement.

Lorena relented and pulled out her phone again. She opened the e-mail and began scanning it quickly for any mention of her name. "In the event of my death... Blah blah blah... Stocks... Boring stuff..." She muttered, oblivious of her friends eagerly awaiting the news. "My eldest daughter, Elena shall receive control of a third of the company... What ifs... Technicalities... Wow, she really did cover every possible future event... Ah! Here I am... " she paused, confusion flashed across her face and she scrolled back up. She reread and reread the section about her, as if the words would change the second or third time she went over it. But they didn't. "I'm going to own thirds of Boone Industrial when I come of age."

"Woah~!" Honey exclaimed, his eyes wide with wonder.

Lorena turned her phone off put it away. "Okay, that's enough drama for today." Everyone just stared at her. "What? Aren't we opening soon?" That snapped them out of it, and they all went back to setting up.

**~Time Skip~**

Lorena was sitting at a table reading her book with Kyoya on his laptop and Takashi also reading a book. She was taking refuge there from the devil twins and Tamaki. They were trying to make her and Haruhi dress up in some fancy bunny outfits, no way in hell was she about to do that. The twins were chasing Haruhi around the room-who was annoyed that Lorena had abandoned her to the wrath of the twins-when they bumped into another table and causing tea to spill all over Honey-sempai's Usa-chan. Luckily, Honey-sempai was taking his nap when this happened so they had time to figure out how they were going to break the news to the third-year. Tamaki and the twins were flippin' out while Haruhi was just confused as to why they were being so dramatic-not like they were born that way or anything. Lorena also wanted to know why they were so scared of Honey-sempai finding out. I mean sure, his coveted toy was ruined, but they were acting like he was going to _kill_ them.

"Excuse me," Kyoya interrupted the idiot trio, "we don't have any guests at the moment, so I don't mind if you make a racket, but please, be careful. You don't want to wake Honey-sempai." The three froze, looking over to make sure Honey was still asleep, which he was. Lorena wondered how he could sleep so peacefully with all this racket.

"He's a third-year who still takes afternoon naps?" Haruhi wondered. "Well, we're gonna have to tell him about the bunny at some point. Let's just wake him up and apologize." Ah Haruhi, always the optimist.

The idiots called her back to "safety" behind a couch with them. "Honey-sempai wakes up in a very bad mood after napping." Tamaki tried to explain. "Now this may just be rumor, but the Haninozuka family once visited a U.S. military base to give combat training. Supposedly, Honey-sempai slept through most of it because of his jet-lag. Then, a soldier came in and carelessly tried to wake him up since he had been sleeping for so long. On that day, he wiped out two entire platoons of soldiers, and not just any soldiers, green-berets. And I've heard, we've had diplomatic issues with America ever since that day. And we've got a bigger problem, Usa-chan was handmade for Honey-sempai by his deceased grandmother! You've seen the way he carries it around, that little bunny is his most prized possession. I can't imagine how he's going to react when he wakes up and sees that his precious Usa-chan ruined!"

"He's gonna do to us what he did to those green-berets!" The three of them wailed. Haruhi still wasn't convinced.

"You're exaggerating, there's no way that story could be true. I mean, come on. Rena, you're American, did that really happen?" Haruhi responded.

"Oh yeah," Lorena replied with sarcasm dripping from her voice, "things have been so tense between Japan and America it's like a conversation between me and my stepmother."

To further prove his point, Tamaki continued, "It is! And there's other evidence that Honey-sempai has an evil side to him. Listen to this, his blood type is AB, how d'ya like that?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"But Haruhi," Tamaki whined, "that means he's the same blood type as Kyoya..." Haruhi was instantly convinced, hell, Lorena was convinced now too.

They looked warily at Kyoya who was typing on his laptop, "What's the matter? Do you guys have a problem with my blood type?"

Tamaki then tried to get the twins to go on some crazy trip to get a medium to channel Honey-sempai's dead grandmother to make a new Usa-chan and to bring back souvenirs. They quickly shot it down. Then they tried to get Haruhi to wear a pink bunny suit to placate Honey while the bunny was at the cleaners. The noise they made trying to get Haruhi to accept woke Honey-sempai from his nap. Thinking they could fool him, they substituted Tamaki's bear for Usa-chan. Honey immediately slammed the bear onto the ground, Lorena could hear echoes he threw it so hard.

Dragging his blanket, Honey walked over to his bunny rabbit that was still on the table with tea surrounding it. He picked it up and looked menacingly at the three idiots still crouched behind the couch. Lorena couldn't see his facial expression because Takashi placed one of his large hands over her eyes, successfully blocking any and all vision. No matter how hard she tried, she wasn't strong enough to move it. Takashi didn't want her to see the nightmare-inducing look Mitsukuni had on his face.

"Who's responsible for this?" Honey asked in a scary voice. "Who got my Usa-chan dirty?"

The twins and Tamaki yelled for help, "Mori-sempai help! Don't let him hurt us!"

In the next instant, Takashi was standing in front of Honey, having dragged Lorena with him so she still wouldn't be able to see the frightening look on Honey's face. She was still struggling to get him off of her, and she was curious to see how he would handle this situation. "He wanted tea. So Usa-chan decided to have a drink." Lorena could hear the stillness from the three hosts in front of her.

"I see, so that's why his face is all dirty, isn't it? Do you think he wants some cake too?" Honey was back to his cheery and innocent self. Lorena was finally released and now got a good look at the extensive stain on Usa-chan.

She knelt down to Honey's level, "Hey, do you want me to clean Usa-chan up for you? I know a good way to get him back to his old self in no time."

"Sure!" Honey took her hand and dragged her to the kitchen area to do just that.

**~Time Skip~**

The club was going by normally. Lorena was helping one girl with her math, while the other girls she was hosting were chatting together while they were snacking on the cookies and tea.

"Wow! That makes so much more sense now! Thank you Rena-chan! You're a saint!" The girl she was helping praised. She had just finished her math homework and finally understood what she was doing.

Lorena chuckled lightly, "Really, it's no problem. My purpose here is to help you girls with anything you may need."

The three girls fawned over her, going on and on about how she was so sweet and humble. Of course, Lorena tried her best to deflect these compliments.

Trying to direct the conversation away from herself, Lorena commented on a cute stuffed monkey on one of the girl's lap. She picked it up. When she did, Lorena saw that the monkey's tail had been detached. "I was kind of hoping you could fix it, Rena-chan... Can you?" The blonde girl asked shyly.

Lorena held out her hands for the monkey. When the girl gave it to her, she looked it over. "Looks like an easy fix. I can fix him right now if you want." She suggested.

The girl's face brightened instantly. "Oh, yes! Yes please! Thank you so much, Rena-chan!"

Lorena smiled at her. She quickly went over to Haruhi and borrowed her mini sewing kit she always kept on her. She sat back down in front of the girls and began to work. As she worked, the girls observed in raw amazement. Not even a minute later, Lorena cut the extra thread and looked at her handy-work. Deeming it worthy, she nodded in finality and offered it back to the girl. The girl took it back, tears in her eyes, she repeatedly thanked her.

Lorena went to refill a girl's tea cup when she discovered they had no more tea. "Oh, it looks like we're out of tea. I'll go make us some more real quick. I'll be right back."

She quickly made her way into the kitchen area and put a kettle on the stove. She hadn't been standing there for twenty seconds when she heard a commotion in the main room. Curious, she left the stove to peek into the main room to see what all the fuss was about.

Lorena stepped back into the room, seeing all the girls squealing and looking over where Honey and Takashi were sitting, she also looked. If she were holding something, she would've dropped it. She saw Takashi holding Honey-sempai down on a couch and trying to look into his mouth for some reason. Her soul began leaving her body when Haruhi noticed she had come back in at the wrong time.

"Oh, Lorena, did you hear? Honey-sempai has a cavity." she explained. Everyone looked at her still motionless form.

Realizing how weird this probably looked to someone who didn't know what had happened, Hikaru started, "Uh, Rena-chan-" He stopped when Lorena just put her hands up with her palms out and slowly backed up back into the kitchen area with the same blank look on her face. Takashi also realized how this might be misinterpreted and how he probably looked like a huge weirdo to her right now, but he was more focused on Mitsukuni's cavity. He should've taken better care of him, it was his fault this happened and now Mitsukuni was in pain because of him.

Lorena was pouring the boiling water into the teapot when Takashi walked in with a half-eaten piece of cake. Figuring it was Honey's, she just turned back to her teapot. _Isn't that a bit cruel?_ She thought, _I mean, he could've at least let him finish his cake. _

She was about to leave the room with the finished tea and snacks when Takashi spoke up finally. "Rena-chan," he said with his usual deep, monotone voice. She turned around to face him. "We should talk." He had been meaning to talk to her about some things for a while, but so much had happened recently, one of them being Lorena not interacting with any of the Hosts-except Haruhi-outside of what was required. This was as good a chance as any, they were alone and no one would interrupt, hopefully.

She gave him a look that said, 'What'dya think we're doing right now?' He ignored it and continued, "About that night."

She tensed, he wanted to talk about what happened at the beach house. About what he saw, and what he'd heard from her. Though she knew it was impossible, she had been hoping that he had forgotten about it. At the time, she was emotionally vulnerable because of the cruel "gift" her stepmother had sent her, and then Takashi saw a side of her that she never wanted anyone to see. _Oh God,_ she thought, _what if this is it? What if he wants me to leave and never come back? What if he hates me?!_

Her irrational thoughts were interrupted when he placed a large hand on her upper arm. He took the tray from her hands and placed it on the counter to his left. He drew her back and trapped her against the counter, caging her there with his arms on either side of her. This way, she wouldn't be able to run away from him. "Umm, I should really get back to my customers.." Lorena weakly tried to excuse herself. He just gave her a look that expressed his determination to get the truth out of her, the whole truth.

Lorena avoided his piercing eyes and looked to the side, she nervously licked her chapped lips. Lost in her thoughts of trying to find a way out of this situation, she chewed her bottom lip. A bad habit she hadn't been able to get rid of over the years back in America.

Takashi watched as she did this and couldn't help but remember the kiss they'd shared from what felt like years ago. Ever since then, he'd been wanting to do it again. There was something about this girl that was just irresistible to him and made his heart pound almost painfully. It was a wonder she didn't have suitors lining up around the block. But now, he was so close. Just a few small inches and he'd have his wish. But this was hardly the time for such a thing, considering he wanted her to talk to him. The only sign of his internal struggle was his grip tightening on the edge of the counter and his eyes lingering on her lips.

Lorena came out of her inconclusive thoughts and looked back up at him. She saw as he snapped his gaze back up to her eyes. _What was he looking at? Is there something on my face?_ She was oblivious to his inner struggles. She was about to spew some half-assed excuse or explanation when Haruhi called for Lorena out in the main room. Lorena gave him a look saying, 'What can ya do?' and slipped under his arm, grabbed the tray, and bolted out of the room before he could stop her.

With his plan to get her to open up to him failed, he also went back out into the main room.

**~Time Skip~**

Lorena was dragged by Haruhi and the twins to go check up on Honey-sempai before class started. They found him walking down a hall to his first class, they also saw Takashi walking towards him. "Mitsukuni, bag."

"I can carry it."

"Yes you can. Hand it over." Takashi took his bag and flipped it upside down, pouring out all the candy Haney-sempai had hidden in its depths. It was a mystery as to how he fit so much candy in one bag.

"I was just looking, I wasn't gonna eat them." Honey excused.

"Really? If you're just looking, then try this." He held up a piece of paper with pictures of all sorts of candy and sweets on it. "I'll keep the real stuff." From around the corner Lorena could see the crocodile tears welling up in Honey's eyes.

"Oh, man. That was rough." The twins chorused.

"I can't help but feel sorry for him." Haruhi also commented.

"With how much sugar he was eating before, couldn't Honey-sempai go through some sort of withdrawal? Should we be worried?" Lorena asked only to be ignored. _Thanks guys, love you too._ She thought sarcastically.

"You know I had no idea that Mori-sempai could be so brutal." Hikaru stated as the four of them were returning to their own class.

"You wouldn't expect it. I thought his principles kept him form doing anything that upset Honey-sempai. And to think that he could get the boss to go along with him." Kaoru remarked.

"As far as his principles go, I think it's more about making sure Honey is safe and healthy. Sure, that includes making sure he's happy, but if it's for his own good, I think he'd do it. And it's not like this is a permanent thing, he'll be back to shoveling sweets in no time." Lorena interjected from her spot next to Haruhi and behind the twins. Haruhi stopped and put on her thinking face, Lorena stopping with her. Haruhi was the smartest out of all of them, what was she thinking about?

**~Time Skip~**

Lorena was sitting at her own group of couches again since she had so many customers today. They were disappointed that they couldn't have or share any sweets today, but once it was explained, they were more willing to go along with it. Earlier, Kyoya had warned Lorena about Honey trying to get her to give him any sweets, seeing as he was desperate. She understood, and made sure not to have anything with sugar in her bag or in her pockets, she wasn't sure if she could resist his tearful eyes. She truly felt bad for him, but it was for his own good. Eating anything sweet left him in pain, and Lorena would do anything to keep her friend form being in pain.

Lorena saw Honey running up to Takashi and giggling, seeming to be normal again. "Look Takashi! My cavity's all better now!"

"You sure?" Takashi asked him without looking up from his book.

"The swelling has even gone down!"

"Has it?"

"So, do you think I can have a piece of cake? Just one? Pleaseee~!"

Suddenly, Takashi pulled out a sugar-free ice pop out of nowhere and stuck it into Honey's mouth. Honey yelped in pain and the swelling came back almost instantly. "You're not fully recovered yet."

_That's just cruel, Takashi._ Lorena thought as she witnessed this whole scene.

**~Time Skip~**

After the failed attempt to get sweets from the guests, and the realization he had gone to the wrong person with Haruhi, Honey spotted Lorena reading a book all on her own. With the perfect plan in mind, Honey sulked over to her.

Tugging on her sleeve to get her attention, he put on the waterworks, "Rena-chan, you gotta help me. Why is everyone being so mean? What have I done? You don't hate me, do you Rena-chan?" He asked in his most pitiful voice. His hope rose when he saw her heartbroken look on her face. She picked him up and hugged him.

"Oh, Honey. Of course I don't hate you, nobody could ever hate you. We just wanna help you is all."

He looked up at her with hopeful eyes, "So, you'll help me?"

Doing as Takashi had asked of them all, she had to refuse to give into his tricks, but why not get her own revenge for the little stunt he pulled back at the beach house? She pretended to think, "Hmm, help huh?" She rolled the word "help" around in her mouth as if it were a new taste. "Gee, I haven't gotten any help in so long, I wouldn't know how to give you any help..." Honey knew instantly what she was talking about.

Lorena was walking away from his crestfallen form when she thought, _Revenge is mine._

**~Time Skip~**

Lorena and the rest of the Hosts excluding Takashi were all sitting around a table watching poor Honey-sempai from afar. Lorena had the misfortune of being stuck between the twins, they really didn't want to let go of her. They all knew Honey was about to crack, the issue was staying out of his way when the time finally came.

Honey went into the kitchen area to look for any remaining sweets. "He's headed for the candy!" Hikaru exclaimed worriedly.

"Not to worry, we emptied out all the sweets." Kyoya said with a smirk on his face.

"Kyoya-sempai, you seem really chipper today." Haruhi stated.

"Yeah, it's putting me on edge, knock it off." Lorena interjected. Honey pulled out Tamaki's teddy bear from the cabinet and trew it on the ground. Again, Lorena could hear the echoes.

"Ah! He keeps doing that to my teddy bear!" Honey floated back into the main room, and collapsed. Lorena was about to jump up and check on him but was stopped by the twins holding her arms.

"Well, there he goes. Three days and he gives up." The twins commented.

Tamaki went over and shook his shoulder. "Uh, Honey-sempai?" Lorena jumped when Honey latched onto Tamaki's arm like a piranha. Tamaki ran around in circles shouting, "Somebody help me! He's eating my arm off!"

They all watched as Takashi stood up slowly and approached the two of them. "Mitsukuni, don't take this out on other people." Honey detached himself from Tamaki's wrist. Tamaki rubbing his sore wrist in relief. "It's disgraceful." Takashi finished.

Lorena jumped again when Honey yelled at Takashi and flipped him over his shoulder, sending him flying. "A little bit isn't gonna hurt me! You're so mean! You're such a hardhead! That's it I hate you! I hate you Takashi!" He then ran out of the room, a concerned Lorena running after the distraught boy.

Her longer legs easily caught up to him and she managed to lead him back to the doors of Music Room #3. She had him listen as Takashi explained how he felt guilty for Honey's cavity and how he had punished himself by making Honey hate him.

It wasn't until he explained everything did Lorena understand why he did all the mean things he did. Of course, Haruhi being the smartest of all of them by a long shot, figured it out all on her own.

Lorena opened the doors for Honey and placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling encouragingly at him. Crying again, Honey ran over to Takashi, apologizing for forgetting to brush his teeth and for saying he hated him.

**~Time Skip~**

A few days later, Honey was all better. He could once again stuff his face with all the sweets he could want. He decided to celebrate with all his favorites, even sharing them with Lorena. The two of them were so wrapped up in their food and coversation that they didn't notice the brunette girl talking to Takashi.

"Excuse me." The quiet girl said, approaching the group of Hosts.

"Oh, are you a fan of Mori-sempai?" Tamaki asked her.

She walked right up to Mori and continued, "Well, Mori, I understand now, I know who you feel so strongly about. And it's okay." She looked over to the table where Honey and Lorena were laughing together. "I must say I find it a little surprising... It's just so... I can't explain it... It's just so... YAY!"

And so, the events of that crazy week came to a close. Lorena went back to fighting off a migraine from the squealing fangirls and burying herself in her books.

Lorena was walking home with Haruhi when she broke the silence with, "You know that girl that came into the Host Club today? The brunette one with the braids?"

"Yeah, why?" Lorena was confused as to why she was asking her about this.

"Well, I saw her confessing to Mori-sempai a few days ago." Haruhi said slyly, looking at her friend from the corner of her eye.

"Okay, why do I need to know this?" Lorena feigned ignorance.

Haruhi chuckled at her, seeing right through her rouse. "'Cause you like Mori-sempai, of course."

If Lorena were eating something, she would've choked on it. She cleared her throat, "I don't know what you're talking about, Haru-chan."

Haruhi smirked and faced her, "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. After all, you seen to have the most fun spending time with him and Honey-sempai. And when the girls are talking about their crushes your eyes drift over to him. Not to mention your eyes get this glint when you look at him or talk to him, you look almost happy. It's pretty obvious that you like him."

Lorena jerked her face away from her friend to hide her blush. She was also disappointed in herself, she was sure she could hide it from everyone. Then again, Haruhi was way too smart for her own good, always noticing the little things.

"In any case," Haruhi continued, "he turned her down. He seems to have his eye on someone else."

Lorena hummed and took out her keys, luckily they were coming up on her apartment complex. She said her goodbyes and started going up the stairs to her apartment when Haruhi called out to her, "Hey, I'm gonna make some more rice balls tonight, would you like some? Maybe you could even learn to make them for yourself."

Lorena's face lit up instantly, excitement pouring off of her in waves. "Definitely!" She smiled. What a great way to end the week. Lorena briefly wondered what was going to happen next with the Host Club. _Then again, I don't really want to know what's coming next._

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**A/N: Alright, now you can tell me how much you hate me. But before that, Merry Christmas Eve Eve! I hope everyone has lots of fun and happiness these holidays! Stay warm and safe! Hopefully I'll have another update out within a reasonable amount of time for once... **


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Hello again! I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Years! Unfortunately, winter break is ending for me soon (ew school). I would've had this chapter out earlier but my phone fUKCING DELETED IT! *coughs* It's okay though, I made it work. In fact, I think my rewrite is better than the original. Special thanks go to jinkiestrap, TheAlleyCat18, ToriBlock, Mizzimus, GrammaticallyWrong, and Die-Hard-Twi-Hard-13 for following and faving!**

**YuYuHakushoObssesser: Here you go!**

**abblesindatardis: Thank you so much! I'm honored you like my story so well. I hope to never let you down! *bows***

**rottieangel (Chapter 6): Glad you liked it!**

**Secret Companion: Thank you! More will definitely come!**

**GramaticallyWrong: Thank you so much, you have no idea how happy your review made me! And I do the same thing with reviewing on fanfics, I like to collect my thoughts as a whole before giving feedback. And I greatly appreciate any and every review and piece of feedback I get. It makes me feel happy and helps me improve as a writer. Hope you like this chapter just as much as the others!**

* * *

It was now summer break. Lorena had taken the last week off of school to travel to America to try and get her father to back off on the whole "moving back home" deal. Lord knows she wasn't about to spend her time there voluntarily _and_ on her break.

While she was in America, she spent a good majority of her time with Nate and Michael and her godchildren, Adam and Emma. The kids had come out of their shells completely and absolutely adored Lorena, who returned the affections tenfold. Michael was supposed to be deployed again, within days in fact. The life of an army doctor was a busy one. Nate wasn't very happy about it, but he understood why he had to do it.

On the third day of her being in America, Elena had made a surprise visit only to be surprised herself when she saw Lorena was there. Lorena caught her older sister up on the latest happenings of her life over lunch. Ever the understanding one, she sided with Lorena on the issue with their father. They talked about anything and everything from Elena's quickly ending college life to boy crushes. The latter Lorena adamantly refused to say anything about, but Elena poked and prodded until she figured it out on her own. She then proceeded to relentlessly tease her about it.

"Let's make a bet." Elena suddenly suggested, a conniving look on her face.

"Noooo." Lorena dragged out the word to emphasize her point.

"Oh come on~!" Elena whined, a pleading look now dominating her face, "It'll be just like old times~!"

"Oh, you mean like when I would lose every single time and end up doing something absolutely humiliating? Or something reckless that ended in a trip to the hospital?" Lorena sassed back.

"Hey, that roof thing was all you. I didn't tell you to jump off of it, I just said, 'I bet you can't beat me to the ground.'" Elena defended herself.

"I won though!" Lorena laughed over the rim of her water bottle. They laughed at the memory of their father's face when they did that. She had broken her arm because of her bad landing. They were grounded for a week after that, but it was totally worth it.

"But seriously, I bet that I can get dad _and_ Theresa off your back for two weeks before you can." Elena challenged.

Lorena narrowed her eyes at her sister, "What's the catch?"

Elena smiled innocently, "If I win, I get to dress you up the day you go back to Japan to your friends. No complaints either."

"Fine, and if I win, you have to lay off on the teasing about my friends _and_ you have to talk to that guy you like."

Elena thought it over, "It's settled then?"

Lorena smirked, "You're on." They did the traditional fist bump to officiate the bet.

**~Time Skip~**

Haruhi didn't know if she wanted to scream, cry, laugh like a lunatic, or all of the above. Her so called "friends" had tracked her down and were now trying to completely ruin her vacation. If only Lorena were here, she would put them in their place. If anything, she would've taken up that one open room so they'd all have to leave. Since the twins reminded her of the cell phone she borrowed from them, she wondered if Lorena had tried to contact her at all yet. Sure summer vacation had only just started for them, but Lorena had been gone the whole week before them. Sure enough, there were a couple texts and one missed call from her.

Rena: 'Hey Haru-chan, how's Hell?'

Rena: 'Why are you ignoring me?'

Rena: 'Are you mad at me?'

Rena: 'Oh, your phone is off isn't it?'

Rena: 'Call me if you need me.'

So Haruhi did just that. Managing to slip away with the excuse that she had to use the restroom, she called her friend in hopes of a rescue.

"Hello?" Lorena answered.

"Rena-chan, thank God! You've got to help me!" Haruhi pleaded.

"Woah woah, what's wrong Haruhi? Are you okay?" Concern filled her voice.

"They've infiltrated my vacation! It's like no matter what I do, they're always there! I can't get rid of them!" Haruhi lamented, sitting on the counter next to the sink.

"Oh..." Lorena understood now, "The guys found you, huh? Not to worry, I'm in a cab right now on my way to my hotel."

"Huh?! You mean you're back!?" Haruhi asked excitedly. She missed her best friend after all.

Lorena laughed, "Yup! Creature and I have returned! Think you can survive twenty more minutes?"

Haruhi sighed, "I'm not sure..."

Lorena laughed again at her friend's antics, "You'll be fine! And don't tell the guys yet, I want to surprise them." Mischief snuck its way into her voice.

Haruhi agreed and they said their goodbyes.

**~Time Skip of About Fifteen Minutes~**

Lorena decided to walk from her hotel to the pension house that Haruhi was staying in. After all, it was a nice day, it wasn't too far away, and Creature could use the exercise after being on their private jet for hours.

She checked her phone to see that she still had five minutes left to get there. She was only a few blocks away, so she decided to slow her pace and stroll through the lovely city of Karuizawa.

She had Creature on a long black leash who was on high alert for any threats that may present themselves. This was a new place, he didn't know any of these people or this land. His one and a half ears stood ram-rod straight, head swiveling back and forth.

The pair of them were attracting many stares and whispers. This was mainly due to Creature's menacing look, with his muscles and his scars. It was also partly due to the fact that the person holding the end of his leash was a skinny girl who looked to be dressed for a party.

You see, Lorena was keeping up her losing streak when it came to bets with her older sister. Eh, winning was overrated anyways.

Because she lost the bet that meant her sister got to dress her up and she wasn't allowed to complain about it. Elena dressed her up in a strapless black dress that flared out at the waist with a lace pattern that ended just above her knees, a small pink belt, matching black heels with red undersides, a black leather clutch, blonde hair curled to perfection, and professionally done makeup.

She had to admit, she did feel pretty. Especially with her blood red lipstick. That, and it was always amusing to be the opposite of what people expect. Even when it was as simple as walking Creature.

They were halfway there when a little old woman called out to her. "Excuse me, young lady?" Lorena looked around to see if she was talking to someone else, not seeing anyone else who was paying any attention to her, she pointed at herself in question. The old lady laughed lightly, "Yes, you. Would you mind terribly coming over here for a moment?" If she were on her own, Lorena would've politely refused, but she had Creature there to protect her. So far, he seemed fine with her, so she must not be a threat. She walked closer to the little old lady's stall of flowers. "Oh! You are a very beautiful young lady! You remind me so much of my daughter."

Lorena smiled politely, "Thank you very much ma'am."

The old lady laughed again, "And so polite too! I'm sorry to have bothered you, you look like you're off to a date."

Lorena chuckled, "No, just going to meet my friends."

"Oh, in that case, I won't keep you long. I just thought such a beautiful young lady deserves an equally beautiful flower. Here." She handed her a purple iris. "It symbolizes hope." Lorena looked up at her, confused. "I know that grief in your eyes. Not many could spot it, but I have a good eye for those types of things. I just wanted you to know that I've been where you are, and things do get better. There is hope for the future."

Lorena smiled bittersweetly at the woman. "Thank you for your kind words. May I also buy a dozen daisies for my friend?"

"Of course dear." Lorena paid the woman and went on her way. With the iris tucked behind her ear, she did feel a little bit better. Just a bit.

Soon enough, they arrived at the bed and breakfast. Not seeing anyone she recognized in the front, she decided to look for her friends on her own. Creature took off running after a rabbit, ripping the leash from Lorena's grip. It stung her hands, but luckily it wouldn't leave a mark. '_Well, there's no way I'm going to be running after him in heels._' She thought. Knowing he'd come back soon enough, she went on her way into the building.

Stepping inside, she got a cozy feeling from the place. Homely. She jumped back when a middle aged transvestite popped up in front of her. "Oh my~! What a beautifully refreshing young lady~! Do you have a reservation?"

Overwhelmed by this man's sudden presence, she stuttered, "U-Uh, no. I'm a friend of Haruhi Fujioka. My other friends should also be here..."

"Oh! You mean those gorgeous young men who are helping me around the place~? They're outside darling, do you want me to show you?"

"No no, you don't have to. I'm gonna surprise them."

"Oh! Looks like some of them are right out there!" He observed, pointing out of the window on the right.

Directly in front of the window was a shirtless Takashi chopping wood for some reason. _Woah... Wait, why is he chopping wood in summer? _She could feel her blush spreading from her cheeks to her ears, down her neck, and stopping at the middle of her chest. Sure, she'd seen him shirtless when they were at the waterpark and the beach, but this was different. The way his sweat glistened on his skin, the way his jeans hung low on his hips, the way his muscles rippled with his movements- _Goddamnit hormones, not now._ Picking her jaw up from off the floor, Lorena quickly backed out of the building and away from Misuzu-chi's amused gaze.

She was walking around the side of the building towards her friends when she was passed by a running Creature. He ran up to Haruhi, her being the one person there that he knew best. "Huh? Creature? How did you get here? You still have your leash on... Where's Rena?" Haruhi asked him as she scratched his head.

"You called?" Lorena answered cheekily, stepping around the corner and into their sight. Immediately, she was tackled by two redheaded twins. "Hey! You guys almost knocked me down! You get this dress dirty and I'll break your arms off and beat you with them!" Her threat was only laughed off by them.

"Rena-chan already sleeps with us, we've liked her from the beginning." They said in their usual unison.

She narrowed her eyes at their grins. "What? Where did this come from? Don't touch me anymore you perverts."

Lorena was yanked away from the twins by Tamaki who spun her around in his usual fashion, squeezing all the air out of her lungs. He was going on and on about something along the lines of, "You're never allowed to leave your father for so long again." And "Precious daughter." Lorena couldn't make out half of his incoherent babble.

Then she was then twirled away from Tamaki by Kyoya who dipped her low like they just finished the tango or something. "What are you doing?" Lorena asked him with a mix of fear, confusion, and disgust dripping from her words.

He fake-smiled at her, "Can't I welcome my friend home?"

"Not if you look like you plan to murder me later..." Lorena deadpanned.

Then she was pulled by her wrist away from Kyoya and caught Honey who was hugging her around her neck. "Why're you all dressed up, Rena-chan? Are you going somewhere?" He asked with a cute head tilt.

Lorena let out a frustrated sigh, "No, I lost a bet."

"Oh. You look really pretty in it! You should lose bets more often!" He complimented innocently.

He was then pulled away by Haruhi who gave her friend a normal hug. Poor Lorena was so dizzy from all the twirling and spinning and yanking that she couldn't see straight. It was a wonder she hadn't broken a heel or something. "I got you some flowers Haru-chan." Lorena held up the slightly-crumpled-but-still-okay bouquet to her friend. She accepted them gratefully.

Shaking off the dizziness, Lorena saw Takashi-in all his shirtless glory-standing there waiting patiently for his hug. "Uh uh big man, you're all sweaty. Get cleaned up, then you can have your hug or whatever." So he left to do just that.

**~Time Skip~**

Lorena was sitting in the dining area texting Elena on her phone and giving her aching feet a rest.

Lorena: Do I really have to wear these damn things all day? They're killing my feet.

Elena: Yes! They look amazing on you! And stop being such a baby, you're lucky it's only for one day.

Lorena: Ugghh

She stopped texting when she felt a large hand rest on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Takashi standing behind her, having cleaned up and put a shirt back on. She happily stood up and threw her arms around his neck. Even with the heels on, the top of her head was still an inch shorter than where the top of his shoulder was. She joked, "You're too tall! Shrink dangit!" With his arms around her midsection, he lifted her up a good four inches off the ground. Squeaking when he did, she held on tighter, which was exactly what he wanted her to do. He loved the feeling of her in his arms and her arms wrapped around him, so he was going to make the most of this opportunity. "Heh, that works too, I guess." She said nervously. He gently set her back down and took the seat on the other side of the table. "So, tell me about this contest thing you guys are doing."

Not long after they had started talking, Tamaki came in and began playing the piano, which attracted a lot of attention from passers and the people in their rooms.

The sun was setting, and both Lorena and Creature were tired with jetlag. Honey came over to the pair of them and tugged on the end of Lorena's dress. "Ne, Rena-chan, would you like to stay with us in our cottage? It'll be a lot of fun!"

She smiled down at the third-year, "Sorry Honey, I've already paid for my reservation at the hotel I'm staying in, and all my stuff is there. Maybe next time, okay?" He looked disappointed, but nodded anyways, hoping that "next time" would come soon. "Speaking of, I should really get back to my hotel. Creature and I are pretty tired. We'll see you guys tomorrow?"

"Definitely!" Honey giggled. "Want us to give you a lift there?"

"If it's not too much trouble..." Lorena trailed off.

"It's not~! Right Takashi?" Takashi nodded his agreement, he'd feel much better knowing where she was staying and that she got there safely.

"Okay." So the four of them left after saying their goodbyes.

**~Time Skip to Next Day~**

Lorena walked into the bed and breakfast with Takashi and Honey, leaving Creature outside again. She was so glad to be wearing clothes of her own choice today. She was back to jeans and sneakers.

They had picked her up from her hotel and they had breakfast together at a nice little café. They-meaning Honey-were telling her about how Tamaki had tried to wake them-again, meaning Honey-up at 6 in the morning. Laughing, she said, "Wow, I'm not exactly a morning person either, but I'm never _that_ bad."

Looking around, they saw Haruhi and an unfamiliar guy sitting and talking at a table, Tamaki in the corner of woe, and Hikaru and Kaoru sitting at the bar. They joined Kyoya who was sitting at his own table.

They were sitting there for a couple of minutes when Hikaru started acting like a jerk to Haruhi's old friend, Arai.

"I'm just sayin', it's obvious this guy's got a thing for Haruhi." Hikaru practically shouted it, making sure they all heard him. "It's sickening to watch him try and flirt." Lorena had never seen Hikaru like this, she knew he could be immature and possessive, but this was just crossing the proverbial line.

"Hikaru! What's wrong with you? Quit acting like such a jerk." Haruhi stood up in anger.

Arai laughed nervously and waved his hands around, trying to diffuse the situation. "Hey, it's no big deal. He's right, I did have a thing for you once. But who cares, you already turned me down, right?" Everyone made noises of surprise, even Haruhi.

"Why do you look so surprised?" Kyoya asked her calmly.

"Uh... Well, I didn't know." Haruhi stuttered.

"You have to fill us in on this story Arai. Now when did this happen?" Tamaki asked him.

They all listened to his story about how he tried to confess and it all went over her head. She was so dense. Haruhi looked horrified. "I'm so sorry." She apologized.

"So you're turning me down again a while year later?" He laughed, "Don't worry Fujioka, I'm over it already. You didn't realize what I meant so that means you weren't interested."

Then they all moved to one table to hear all sorts of stories about Haruhi in middle school. Hikaru and Kaoru still wouldn't join them. Tamaki invited them over, but Hikaru was still running his mouth and being a jerk.

He got Haruhi so mad she stood up and slapped him. "That's not something for you to decide, Hikaru. I'm not going to tolerate you insulting my friends anymore, you got that?"

He looked shocked, "But why? Why should anyone else even matter to you?" He suddenly stood up and began yelling, "I thought we were your friends! Are we or aren't we?!" Then he ran off, Kaoru not far behind him.

"Their world is still so small, huh? It's such a shame." Tamaki muttered to himself.

Later on, they were seeing Arai off. Haruhi apologized again for Hikaru's actions, but Arai was a good sport about it all. Then, Kaoru dressed as Hikaru came out and formally apologized. Arai was fooled by him, and left with a good mood.

"So Kaoru, tell me why you're pretending to be Hikaru." Lorena asked him off-handedly at the same time Haruhi did.

"Hey, what happened to that scratch on your cheek?" Haruhi pinched his cheek.

"I just covered it up with some concealer." He replied with a grin on his face. She released his face to let him keep talking. "I don't think Hikaru's temper is going to let up any time soon. He's no fun when he's like this, so I've got a small favor to ask of you. How would you like to go out tomorrow with me on a date?" He grinned cheekily.

**~The Next Day~**

Lorena wondered why she even bothered getting out of bed this morning. The only thing they were going to do today was follow Hikaru and Haruhi around on their date. They started by hiding out in a café. She was sitting across from Takashi, with Honey on her right, and Kyoya on her left. Honey was snacking on some ice cream, Takashi was drinking what looked like coffee, Kyoya was writing in his notebook, and Lorena was nursing a cup of hot chocolate in-between her hands.

While they were sitting there peacefully, Tamaki was having a meltdown and taking it out on Kaoru, seeing as he set the whole thing up. "You know, this might be Haru-chan's first date." Honey commented. This made Tamaki start to breathe fire.

"You're gonna pay for that! And look at what she's wearing... It's cute! It's super cute!" He whined.

When they were following them outside, Kaoru went into a deep character analysis of his brother. Lorena was kind of speechless at how much thought he'd given this whole thing.

Lorena saw Tamaki looking at the sky, so she looked up too. She saw storm clouds in the distance. She started to worry, she hoped it would dissipate before it reached them. After all, she'd helped Haruhi through a couple of thunderstorms before. Not really doing much, just holding her hand and distracting her until the worst was over.

From around a corner they watched the two of them sitting on a bench, probably deciding what to do. Tamaki went off on a rant again, "Kyoya get in there and act like a punk picking a fight with Haruhi so Hikaru will have to save her!"

"Where do you dream this stuff up?" Kyoya asked him.

Before she could stop him, Honey walked out there in a "disguise" and started advertising ice cream. Takashi quickly swooped in and rescued him seeing as he would definitely be recognized.

The next catastrophe was Tamaki giving them another ice cream for free in the place of the actual clerk. Lorena calmly explained to the poor man, "I'm very sorry for my brother, sir. You see, he's got a couple screws loose if you know what I mean. I've been charged with his care for a while, and I'm very sorry he bothered you. Really, he's harmless." She ushered Tamaki and Kaoru out of the ice cream booth and proceeded to smack said blonde over the head.

They followed them around for a little while longer before deciding to go back. They didn't want to risk being caught, and Tamaki was slowly collapsing into himself.

They spent the next couple hours at the pension house playing games and talking. Lorena constantly kept an eye on the weather outside. She was getting worried. The storm wasn't dispersing, only getting closer and closer.

When the rain arrived Lorena started pacing, chewing on the ends of her fingers nervously, Creature watching her from his seat next to the door. They weren't back yet and they were already getting lightning and thunder. Takashi stopped her pacing and her chewing on her fingers. Reassuring her with only a look. "You're right," she sighed, "I just can't help it though." She looked out the window again, the storm was only getting worse. She felt him interlace his fingers with hers, squeezing her hand in comfort. She smiled up at him appreciatively before looking out of the window once again. She surprised herself and Takashi when she rested her head on his bicep, caught up in their shared feeling of comfort.

Honey watched this from his table just a few feet away, a triumphant smile on his face. Of course, taking pictures for evidence.

When Tamaki called Hikaru on his cell, Lorena was kind of shocked. She'd never seen him actually angry. And actually yell at someone for something serious like that.

In the end, everything was okay. Hikaru found Haruhi and helped her through the storm, and they returned safely once it was over.

When she was back in her hotel suite with Creature sleeping at the foot of the bed, Lorena was thinking about Takashi. She thought about how nice his large and calloused hand felt in her own. She thought about how warm she felt when he comforted her. And it scared her. Why had she let it get this far? How could she do that? She was nowhere _near_ ready for an emotional attachment. _Woah, emotional attachment? Calm down, he was just helping a friend. Yeah, that's right. Friend. _She tried to convince herself this was true, but a large part of her new it was bullshit. She didn't want to think anymore, so she closed her eyes and fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

**A/N: So, feel free to tell me your opinions. I also have a question... Are you guys getting bored with this story? It's okay to be honest with me. If anybody is, I assure you big things are going to be happening soon. I know the set-up took a while, but it'll be worth it (if I don't fuck it up). I don't know, maybe I'm just letting myself listen to my insecurities and paranoia, I can't really tell. All I can ask is that you guys hang in there with me. Don't give up on me yet! Pleaaasee~! *puppy eyes***


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: So... Long time no see. Umm, so I finished a HUGE paper, battled some major writer's block on this chapter, and my mom's getting married! Special thanks go to littlerose568, SarahBloomSakura, Oeve, briggsnoeller, DarkLight2589, SnowLilyAngel, FaellenOne, Elvira-baba, jjvgf1999, XoxoBeautiful Nightmare Xoxo, vriskaxmeenah, smallangel06, Child-of-Strength, darksidecooki, JennaWasHere, , Mitatita18, Yuiitsu muni, and Red Rose Cat for faving and following.**

**wajagirlliz: Thank you!**

**NightHunterDeath: I appreciate your honesty. I will do my best not to let you down.**

**Allora22701: Haha, thank you!**

**tokyoghoul234: Thank you! I appreciate your honesty. I will do my best.**

**Oeve: I can honestly say you made me laugh. Um, Lorena's landlady took care of Merlin for her while she was gone. She took Creature because he requires more attention and care. After all, it would be easier for a little old lady to take care of a lizard than for a dog that's probably twice her size. As for them kissing, patience my dear. It's no fun if I can't torture them a bit.**

**SnowLilyAngel: I'm so sorry for the wait! With my mom's wedding, school, and writer's block making this chapter has been hell (pardon my french).**

**Kirorokat: Thank you for your constructive criticism, it helps me a lot. I will almost definitely end up rewriting the first few chapters because I know that they are not very good and are pretty confusing (not that any of this is that good, but I like to think its better). I hope you enjoy(ed) the rest of my story as much as the first chapter. As for the reason for Lorena's panic attack, it's not so much that they were yelling, it's more about what they said specifically (*hint hint* *wink wink*) It'll make much more sense if you keep that in mind as you read the end of this chapter.**

**JennaWasHere: Thank you so much!**

**Ellerocks92: *smiling* Thank you, that means a lot to me. I'll try not to let my insecurities get to me. I hope to not let you or anyone else down. Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran or any of its affiliates. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Lorena was clicking away on her phone working as the twins ran around the room like their usual hyperactive selves. They had tried to drag her into their crazy-ness, but she adamantly refused, explaining very calmly and slowly-_pssh-_that she had work to do, she didn't have time to run around in circles like a chicken with its head cut off. They left her alone after that, but not before giving her a look that only the most unfortunate of unfortunate souls ever got to see...the look of mischief. A shudder ran down her spine as she dared to think what they could have planned. _Just slip out the door quickly as soon as club ends and avoid them at all costs._ She thought to herself, shutting her phone as she finally closed a particularly difficult deal with some potential entrepreneurs who wanted a slice of Boone Industrial.

Ever since the information that she was going to inherit two-thirds of Boone Industrial from her late mother, Lorena had been getting almost non-stop harassment from other major companies wanting to squeeze her for money or to arrange a marriage with her. _Like that's gonna happen any time soon_. Her phone and laptop had been so busy that she was barely able to get eight hours of sleep within the last _two_ days. It was a nightmare. And she couldn't very well ignore them, they were hungry sharks, just waiting for her to slip-up, show a weakness so they could strike. It was all so exhausting. Keeping up this professional image while going to school, and not to mention her _father_. Recently, he'd gone from asking and pleading for her to come home to demanding and threatening. Lorena pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes, trying to dispel the stress and exhaustion.

She was about to go get something to drink when she was splashed with ice-cold water, the jugs it had come from were being held by two smirking devils. She gasped and jumped up, any tired-ness she had before was long gone. She narrowed her eyes in a deadly glare at the two before her. "Do you two have a death wish?" She growled out of her clenched teeth as she brought her jacket lapels together, covering up her now-see-through white dress shirt.

They smirked at her shivering form, "Why, Rena-chan, you wouldn't play with us, so you had to be punished. We don't like being ignored by our toys."

She snorted at them, "I'm no one's toy, much less yours. People are not toys." She paused, rubbing her thumbs on her arms in an absent manner, "You're lucky I had my waterproof case on my phone." She picked up said phone and shook the excess water off of it as she started towards the changing rooms where she knew there were plenty of outfits she could change into, "This better be cleaned up by the time I come out again." She didn't give them a chance to reply as she closed the door to the changing room behind her. She sighed and shook her head, _Troublesome..._

She shuffled through some boxes until she found a cute red sleeve-less lace dress with a sweetheart neckline and some black high heels. _Why-? You know what, I don't wanna know._ She quickly scuttled into a changing area-dripping water all over the place-and closed the curtains. She peeled off her wet jacket and shirt, her pants luckily weren't soaked through. She shimmied into the dress and slipped into the heels. Looking in the mirror, she re-applied her lip gloss and looked herself over. _Pretty cute if I don't say so myself._ She smirked and drew back the curtains only to have a mini-heart attack.

Standing only four inches from her was Takashi who looked as if he'd only just gotten there. His eyes widened at her...eye-catching outfit. He cleared his throat, "You okay?"

She smiled at him, his thoughtfulness touched her, "I'm fine, thank you for asking. Luckily there was this extra dress in a box I found. Just my size too..." She trailed off.

Her train of thought was derailed when he tilted her chin up to look at him directly, moving just an inch closer to her as he did. He cupped her cheek with his left hand, the right one resting on her hip. Without even thinking about it, she placed her hands on his chest. His wonderfully toned chest-_Stop hormones!_ His thumb brushed her cheek, "Sleepy?" He asked softly, almost a whisper, as if he thought that speaking too loudly would ruin the moment.

"A bit." She whispered back. She had hidden it pretty well with her makeup, but makeup had its limits too. She stared up into his dark eyes and found herself unable to look away. Their faces inched closer and closer until their lips were only a hair's breadth away. She pushed herself on her tiptoes and-

"_This is a story all about how my life got flip-turned upside down, and I'd like to take a minute just sit right there, I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air._"

Realizing what she was doing, Lorena ripped herself away and quickly walked over to where she had left her phone with her wet clothes. Without looking at the caller ID she answered, "Lorena Darrow."

"Rey-Rey, thank God!" Elena breathed with a sigh of relief. "Listen, there's no time, you have to get out of there! Wherever you are, _get out now!_ Theresa is there! She's in Japan!"

Horror washed over Lorena and she hung up as she began running-as fast as she could in heels-to the door. "I have to go," she excused herself, she was halfway through the door when Takashi grabbed her arm, stopping her. He just stared at her, "It's a...family emergency." She weakly excused and slipped out of his grasp.

She walked as fast as she could without attracting suspicion across the room when she spotted Kyoya walking towards her. She took a detour over to him and yanked him down to her level by his tie. While the shocked look on his face would've been extremely amusing any other day, Lorena just had too many things running through her mind to pay it too much attention. She whispered in his ear, "There's a family emergency I must attend to, I'll need my clothes delivered to my apartment when they're dry, and give my apologies to my guests." She ordered as she let him go and slipped out the door before anyone else could try to stop or question her.

She walked straight out of the room before rethinking her route, _Someone could see me walking out the front, so I'll have to go out the back. Is there anyone in the front courtyard?_ She walked over to one of the floor-to-ceiling windows and saw a fancy black limo pulling up. _Is that her?_ The limo stopped and the driver quickly ran around to open the door for the person inside. A woman stepped out of the limo, she was average height, slender, blonde shoulder-length hair, bright green eyes, and dressed like a diva. She had the look of a woman that was once very beautiful, but that was marred by the frown lines on her face and the current cold and demeaning look she was giving he driver. _Definitely her. _Lorena knew very well what she was probably saying to him, looking down her nose at those who were not so fortunate as to have been born into a rich family. Lorena closed her eyes, fending off the memories of the spiteful words that were just more cuts to her heart. Thinking of a happier time, she allowed her eyes to open once more and unclenched the fists she didn't notice had balled up in the first place.

When she looked out the window again, she saw that her stepmother was approaching the school, already more than halfway through the courtyard. Remembering her rush to escape, Lorena turned from the window only to almost run into a brunette boy wearing the middle school uniform and rectangular glasses who looked like he was about to tap her on the shoulder. He jerked his hand away when she did, he cleared his throat, "Uhm, could you direct me to where the Host Club is, please?"

"Oh, sure. It's just down this hallway, Music Room #3." She pointed down the hall she had just come from.

"Thank you." And with that, he was on his way.

Lorena paused, _He kinda looked familiar..._ She pushed the thought aside as she saw a dark figure walking towards her from the hallway to her left. She recognized the person, "Nekozawa-sempai!" She called out, rushing over to him.

"Hm? Oh, Lorena-chan, do you want to join the Black Magic Club?" He asked her in his usual creepy voice while Belzeneff rubbed his little paws together.

Eyeing the puppet warily, Lorena replied, "Uh, I actually don't know much about it, can I get a tour?" Anything to get her out of sight.

He smiled creepily, excited at the possibility of a new member. "Right this way." He grabbed her wrist and dragged her over to a particular panel in the wall. She was about to question him when it just randomly slid open and he tugged her inside. The panel slid closed again behind them. Lorena blinked, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the darker room. When they did, she saw the "room" was actually just a staircase. It was just wide enough for someone to walk through without touching the walls. The walls were painted either a black or a dark blue, the stairs started just three feet in front of them, and there was a single lit candle in a candleholder on a brazier on their right. Nekozawa grabbed the candleholder and led the way down the stairs. He began talking about the history of the Black Magic Club and what they do regularly. Lorena was only half-listening.

She interrupted him, "So, uh, do you know all these secret passageways?"

He looked back at her over his shoulder, "I do, they keep me from having to go in the sunlight as often."

"So...so you know of any, I don't know, back exits to the school?"

"There are a couple, why do you ask?"

"Oh, just wondering." Lorena paused, then continued, "Could you show me one?"

"As you wish." He had already guessed by now that she didn't actually want to join the Black Magic Club, but she was always nice to him, so there was no harm in doing as she asked. A few minutes of walking and a half dozen turns later, they stopped at a plain metal door. Nekozawa turned around to face her, "Here we are. Good luck with whatever you're doing." He bade her goodbye and squeezed past her.

"I owe you one, Nekozawa!" She called after his retreating form.

"I'll hold you to that!" He teased.

She shook her head with a small smile and turned back to the door and opened it hesitantly, not really knowing where this was going to lead her. The light form outside blinded her for a minute until her eyes adjusted to it. She looked around, she didn't recognize any of the buildings. _What do I do now?_

**~Time Skip~**

Lorena raised a hand to knock, stopped, lowered her hand, turned around, walked three steps away, stopped, walked back, and repeated the cycle all over again. She did this about three times before the door was opened by a maid on the other side. The maid jumped, surprised to find someone at the other side of the door. She recognized her, "Oh, Miss Lorena, I didn't know we were expecting you today?"

Lorena smiled awkwardly at the maid standing before her, "Uh, yeah, sorry about that. Something...unexpected came up. I was wondering if I could come inside?"

The girl gasped, "Oh! Please excuse me Miss Lorena, please come in!" She moved out of the way to let her in and closed the door behind her. "I'm afraid that neither Master Morinozuka nor Master Haninozuka are home yet."

"Oh, I know. I just thought...I could stay here for a while?" Lorena hugged herself. The maid nodded eagerly and motioned for her to take her shoes off. Lorena did so, and held her heels in her hands as she followed the maid down the hallway and into what looked to be a living room area. The maid left her there, so Lorena knelt at the table, not really sure what to do with herself. She was looking around the room when the maid came back with a tray of tea and cookies. She didn't say a word as she set it out in front of her and poured her a cup, she left soon after that. Lorena sipped her tea in silence, trying to figure out what she should do about her current predicament.

Satoshi Morinozuka had come home early due to his kendo club being cancelled that day and was now wandering the halls of his home bored out of his mind. He paused when he heard light footsteps coming from the living room. He cracked the sliding door open just a sliver and peered inside. Inside the room was a beautiful young woman in a very beautiful red dress standing and looking at the books on the bookshelf, her slender fingers gliding along the spines of the books as she read them. He blushed when he realized he was still creepily watching her. Sliding the door open the rest of the way, he cleared his throat to get her attention.

She jumped slightly and turned to face him. "Oh, um, hello."

"Hello! My name's Morinozuka Satoshi, I don't I've had the pleasure of meeting you yet." He walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Stretching out his hand, he asked, "And you are?"

"Lorena Darrow. I'm Honey and Takashi's friend. From the Host Club." She shook his hand and knelt at the table with him on the opposite side. "Morinozuka, huh? You must be Takashi's younger brother." Satoshi looked very similar to Takashi, the main difference being that Takashi was taller than him. He had the same black hair and gray eyes as Takashi. But he was quite obviously more outgoing than Takashi.

Smiling brightly at the mention of his older brother, Satoshi replied, "That's me!" He poured himself a cup of tea as he told her _all _about how he was the captain of the kendo club at the middle school and was also in the karate club. Lorena politely nodded and smiled, there was nothing she could really say on the subject seeing as she knew next to nothing about kendo or karate aside from some Jackie Chan movies. "I can't believe I haven't met you before now!"

Lorena took advantage of his pause to get her two cents in, "Well, I've only been over here a couple of times. And recently I've been so busy I haven't been doing much of anything except work." He looked at her sympathetically and was about to start talking again when Lorena's phone made a Chewbacca noise, signaling that she had a text message. She laughed embarrassedly, "Sorry about that Satoshi, I thought I put it on silent..." She looked at her phone and read the text:

_Elena: You know the longer you try to ignore her the worse it's going to be in the end. _

Lorena sighed in defeat, she was right. There was no way she could stick her head in the sand this time. If she tried any longer, she'd likely end up dragging her friends into the mess that was her life, and she would never allow herself to do that. They deserved better than that. "I'm sorry, Satoshi. I have to be going now." She stood up from the table, stretching her legs, Satoshi following shortly after.

He nodded, "I understand. Thank you for talking with me, Lorena-sempai." He smiled at her. "I'll walk you out."

"Ah, a gentleman too. You're more like Takashi than I first thought." She teased him.

He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head, "That's good!" he joked. They reached the front door. "I'll have our driver drive you to your house. And I was wondering if you could come over again soon? I'd like to get to know you better."

Lorena smiled, "Maybe, I'll get back to you on that."

"Good enough for me," Satoshi laughed. He walked her to the limo out front and opened the door for her. He stood at the end of the driveway and watched as the limo drove away.

It had just drove out of sight when another limo came into view, driving towards him. He stepped to the side to let it into the driveway, his older brother and cousin stepping out. "Satoshi, what are you doing standing out in the driveway?" Honey asked him from his perch on Takashi's shoulders.

"I was seeing Lorena-sempai off. She just left." Satoshi replied, then going back into his home. Takashi and Honey shared a concerned look before going inside themselves, figuring they would figure out what was wrong with their beloved Rena tomorrow.

**~Meanwhile~**

Lorena was happy to find that Hachirou was her driver. She hadn't seen the elderly man since the incident at the Ootori's indoor waterpark. He was always so nice to her, probably because she let him ramble on and on to her about his family. He had two children and five grandchildren, and going to have a sixth within a few months. He beamed with pride when he talked about his sons, Lorena just didn't have the heart to interrupt him.

When they turned onto the street that Lorena's apartment building was on, he stopped his story. His tone grew serious, "What on Earth…?" She leaned forward to look through the windshield.

In front of her apartment building was a moving truck and around five large men moving furniture from an apartment and into the truck. The elderly landlady was standing on the sidelines with tears streaking down her face. What Lorena saw next made her blood boil and a red-hot rage she hadn't felt in years blinded her. Two of the large men were restraining Creature with aluminum poles with loops on the end of them, the loops around Creature's neck. Creature was struggling against them, barking and snapping at them.

Lorena leaped out of the limo and stormed over to the men with a murderous look in her eyes. She didn't notice Hachirou parking the limo and following her. When she was close enough she yelled at the top of her lungs, "HEY! You get your filthy hands OFF MY DOG!" The movers snapped their heads to look at the skinny blonde girl in heels stomping over to them. The man holding Creature closest to her got a cocky look on his face, which only served to fuel Lorena's rage.

"There's no way this beast could be your dog. A little girl like you? You wouldn't last two seconds against it." He sneered down at her.

She smirked evilly at the man, "_His _name is Creature. And he's been my dog for four years. He's only aggressive with people he thinks are a threat to himself or me." The man scoffed at her and turned back to try and wrestle the dog into the truck when Lorena whistled at Creature. He sat in response to her whistle, not making it easy for the men to move him.

The man turned on her once again, "Stop that!" his face began turning red with anger.

She just smirked at him. "As far as I can see, this is theft and attempted kidnap. Now tell me, who hired you?"

He hesitated, his small brain trying to weigh his options. Deciding the possibility of jail wasn't worth it, he replied, "Some blonde broad. Green eyes. Nasty chick."

Lorena closed her eyes briefly, attempting to calm herself. "How much are you being paid?"

"$600 each." He said proudly, as if he had fooled a client into paying more than they should have.

"I'll double it. Put everything back and unhand my dog immediately." Lorena stared the man down.

Jumping at the prospect of even more money he practically shouted, "Done!" before she could change her mind. He threw the pole into her hands and went to tell his co-workers to take all of the things back. Lorena knelt down and freed Creature of the loops and examined his neck. It was irritated form where he was struggling, but luckily it wasn't anything serious. The other man also left to help his comrades.

"Stay." Lorena commanded Creature as she turned back to the truck. She saw in the truck was the majority of her things, but they were quickly being unloaded. She saw one of the men carrying Merlin's glass aquarium with him scrabbling around in it. "You!" she shouted at the man while walking up to him, "Give him to me." She reached into the aquarium and carefully picked up the bearded dragon and cradled him to her chest. She waved the man off who continued up to her apartment with the now-empty aquarium.

She stroked the poor lizard's back to calm him as she returned to Creature's side. She turned around when she felt a shaky hand tap her on the shoulder. Behind her was her landlady with tear-tracks down her face. "Lorena? What-? Why-?" She struggled to get her question out.

"Oh my, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Lorena fretted over the elderly woman, worrying about her health.

"Some woman was here, she-she said she would buy the building rights from me. I-I refused, but she threatened me. S-Said she would either buy it from me or shut me d-down." She began wailing in Lorena's arms, "What am I to do?! This is all I have left of my husband!"

Lorena stroked the woman's hair and pat her on the back, "Don't worry, I'll set this straight. Tell you what, I'll buy the building off of you, then leave all the rights to you. That way you can keep it, and she can't buy it off of you." She smiled at the woman, trying to comfort her.

She wiped away her tears and sniffled a bit, "You-You would do that for me?"

"Of course. Now, why don't you go back inside, have some tea, and I'll take care of everything else." She ushered the elderly woman inside. Once she was, Lorena sighed. This would not be easy.

**~Time Skip~**

Lorena threw herself onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow. She was exhausted. After righting everything the movers had messed up and attempting to negotiate with her father she had no more energy to do anything except sleep. She groaned loudly when her phone rang. _Who could possibly be calling me at this time of night?_ She answered the phone without looking at the Caller ID. "Hello?"

"Hello Lorena." Lorena's blood ran cold, it was the voice of her stepmother.

**~Time Skip~**

It was useless. There was no way she could've fought her. This was the best option, for both herself and her friends.

Lorena taped up the last moving box and looked around at her apartment. It felt empty, the big furniture had been sold, everything else packed up into boxes just like the one she had just taped up. Creature and Merlin were already waiting for her back in America. Back home. She slumped to the floor and sighed, covering her face with her hands, she attempted to hide from the world and herself for a while. It didn't work.

She ran a hand down her tired face and sighed again. She stood up and went to the door. She stared at the threshold for a second before stepping over it and leaving her apartment for the last time.

She slid into the limo that would take her to the airport where her family's private jet would take her back to America. She looked around the spacious limo and found that she was alone. She hated being alone, but it seemed to be the only constant in her life.

She let her thoughts wander over the events of the last few days.

**~Flashback~**

"You've gained weight." Theresa commented with no masking her disgust. It was the first thing she said to Lorena as she entered her hotel room, one of her "hired help" had dragged her here. Lorena sat in one of the cushy armchairs. What she said was true, of course. Since coming to Japan, she had been eating more-mainly because of the Fujiokas-,and she _had_ gained weight. She'd gone from an almost-malnourished-underweight to a healthier-almost-where-you-need-to-be underweight. Lorena didn't view this as a bad thing, no, this was a very good thing. This was the proof that she was happier here, the proof that her father seemed oblivious to. "I've grown tired of your games. It's time for you to come back home." Theresa's ice-cold green eyes seemed to look straight through her. Lorena kept silent, only staring back at the woman she had grown to both hate and fear with a stone face. Theresa smirked cruelly at her, "So you need some motivation, eh?" Lorena's gaze trailed down to her lap in which her hands rested. "I could always get the companies that trade with the Ootori group to terminate their contracts with them. Or I could call in a complaint about the Suoh's school, something about it being infested with roaches. Or maybe I should just get the Fujiokas evicted from their pathetic excuse for a home." Lorena's hands curled up into fists, trying to contain her anger, then relaxed. Theresa's smirk twisted into something wicked, she knew she had won.

**~End Flashback~**

Lorena didn't go back to school after that, her phone and laptop were taken away-they had the right to seeing as her father had bought them-effectively cutting her off from work or anyone else, Creature and Merlin were shipped off to America as soon as possible, and Lorena was under constant watch by people her stepmother had hired. All of this happened in the span of one day. And now she was being shipped off back to America. Back "home". The thing is, she hadn't considered America home for a while. Over three years, in fact.

Lorena brought her knees up to her chest, the need to hold something too strong. The familiar feeling of loneliness washed over her. She didn't even have the opportunity or time to tell her friends. Sure, Kyoya most definitely knew, but she wasn't able to tell them herself. She couldn't make something up to tell them, and if Kyoya told them, it'd be the truth. So if they didn't hate her yet they'd surely hate her afterwards.

**~Back with the Host Club~**

"What's going on with Lorena?" Hikaru voiced the question everyone in the room wanted to ask. "She's not coming to school and she's not answering her phone. What should we do?"

"I don't know." Tamaki tapped his chin in thought, "I got it! We should go over to her house! She needs our help, men! Are we going to let her down?"

"No!" They chanted.

"Are we going to help our friend?"

"Yes!"

"Good! Let's go now!" Tamaki started towards the door.

Kyoya cleared his throat, causing the others to pause in their actions, "It seems that Lorena is leaving Japan. For good this time." Tamaki wailed and crumbled in on himself, the twins following suit.

"What? No, Lorena wouldn't do that. Not without saying something to us first. Not without saying goodbye!" Haruhi argued.

Kyoya turned his laptop around on the table to face them, "It seems, she's already left." On the screen was a security camera picture of Lorena boarding a private jet at the airport. Haruhi shook her head, still in denial. "It seems that two days ago Lorena's stepmother arrived here. Her purpose here was to persuade Lorena to move back to America, apparently Lorena's parents have been incessant about this for many weeks. My sources tell me that Theresa Darrow," Kyoya pulled up a picture of a pretty blonde woman with piercing green eyes, "has been snooping around school grounds in search of Lorena and information about all of us."

"Why us?" The twins interrupted.

"Most likely as a way to get at Lorena through us." He paused to let them process all of this information. "I have contacted Michael to get some more information. He should be calling any minute now. We have to know why this is happening before we can stop it." Just as he finished his sentence his laptop dinged and displayed that someone was calling.

When he hit the green button on the screen, a video of Michael in an army uniform popped up. It looked like he was in a tent of some sort. "Hey guys." Michael waved minutely at them. "What's up?"

"Michael, we need your help. Lorena's stepmother has taken Lorena back to America. We need to know why." Haruhi was the first to ask.

Michael groaned, "Theresa Darrow is a nasty piece of work. I hate that woman. Wouldn't touch her with a 36-and-a-half foot pole." He ran a hand over his face tiredly. "She _hates_ Lorena. From what I've heard, she seems to want to keep Lorena miserable."

"Why?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked.

Michael groaned again, "Oohh... It's really not my story to tell..." He rubbed the back of his head.

"We need to know, Michael." Hikaru insisted. "We can't help her if we don't know why this is happening in the first place." He was starting to get a little annoyed.

"Obviously Lorena has a toxic relationship with her stepmother. She's forcing her to move to a different country for goodness sakes." Haruhi reasoned.

Michael sighed, "Theresa blames Lorena for Jenna's death."

Now Hikaru was really fed up, "Who is Jenna?!"

Michael groaned again, pressing both of his hands to his face. "She's gonna be so mad..." He mumbled. "Okay." He stuck a hand into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a couple of pictures for a wallet. He looked through some of them, mumbling as he did, "No, no, wrong one-Ah! Here we are. Brace yourself kids."

He held up the picture. And what a picture it was. The room was so silent you could've heard a pin drop. In the picture was a much younger version of Lorena, probably five or six years old.

And holding her hands was her identical twin sister.

"That's Jenna." Michael pointed at the doppelganger on the left. "Lorena's twin."

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**A/N: Alright, I admit, not my best work. I'll polish it up later. And I'll just leave you with that...**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Hello! Well, can you guys believe it? Chapter #30?! Crazy! I never thought I would get this far! Thank you guys so much! And I actually got this chapter out in a more reasonable amount of time? Crazy!**

**Special thanks go to Arisu Winters, SilkSiren, tokyoghoul234, lawliet1313, Zashiku, calicat197, Elvea Theb, AnimeRaiderHybrid12, goddessgrl101, Ducky the Insomniac Panda, Catgirl12348765, Sheery Belladonna Pincher, Luna-Zeta, UzumakiPixie, bronwyn141, and s8xyvriska for following and faving!**

**NightHunterDeath: Well, I appreciate your appreciation for my appreciation of your honesty. As for that last cliffhanger, what can I say? It's just so fun!**

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**Guest: Here it is!**

**Elvea Theb: Hi! Thank you! I'm really glad you like my story so much! Umm, Theresa is a major b**** because she is emotionally manipulative and abusive, more info will come on that in a later chapter (very soon). *winks***

**Catgirl12348765: Don't worry, I fully intend to finish this story all the way through! I'm glad my story interests you so. Hopefully you will like this chapter just as much as the previous ones.**

**Sherry Belladonna Pincher: Done. I hope to not let you down.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and their story arcs.**

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"That's Jenna." Michael pointed at the doppelgänger on the left. "Lorena's twin."

Silence filled the room as they all tried to process this new information.

Their attention was directed to Michael again when they heard another voice on his end, it was off-camera and muffled. They couldn't clearly hear what they said, but Michael replied to the person, "Of course. I'll be right there." He faced them, "Sorry guys, I gotta go. Duty calls." He waved goodbye and ended the video chat.

Kyoya cleared his throat, bringing their attention to a projector that was connected to his laptop, projected on the screen was a picture of baby Lorena and Jenna. The lights dimmed as he pulled a pointer seemingly out of nowhere and began his presentation.

"This is Lorena and Jenna Darrow." The slide changed to a family tree titled, "Darrow Family Tree." He continued, "Lorena has one older sister, Elena, and a twin, now deceased." The picture of Jenna had a red "x" next to it. "Her parents, Iris Boone-recently deceased-and Leo Darrow. She also has a stepmother, Theresa Darrow." The picture of Iris also had a red "x" next to it. The picture changed again to another-more recent-picture of Jenna and Lorena together wearing matching outfits in public. "Jenna Darrow was killed in a mass shooting that happened in a public mall approximately three years ago. Lorena was also severely injured in this attack." The projector clicked off and the lights came back on, and the screen rolled back up. "Questions?"

"Uh, yeah. If you've known about this for this long, why didn't you say something?" Hikaru asked.

"Lorena and I made an agreement. So long as the matter did not cause problems for us, it would not be mentioned. However, Theresa Darrow snooping around and asking about us qualifies as 'problems.'" He pushed his glasses up.

"You know what this means, men." Tamaki declared with a flourish of his arms, "It's time to initiate the 'Make Rena-chan Come Home and Be Happy' plan!" The twins and Honey cheered and Haruhi just sighed. "But first," Tamaki faced them all with a serious look on his face, "recon."

**~Time Skip~**

"I really do hope you boys are successful in bringing Rena back." The little old landlady unlocked the door for the group. "She's such a nice young lady, always so helpful. You know she replaced some of these numbers on the doors? Such a nice young lady... But she never takes proper care of herself! She won't eat if you don't watch her." She remained outside as the Hosts entered Lorena's apartment that only held boxes. Kyoya thanked the old woman and she left them.

Haruhi was speechless. This was really happening. Some part of her was hoping this whole thing had been some sort of sick practical joke. Some part of her was still hoping that Lorena would pop out from behind the corner and shout, "Gotcha! Bet you thought I'd actually left you?" Then they'd all laugh about it, she'd fake being mad at her and the others for tricking her, and them Lorena would say something like, "You're still gonna make me some rice balls, right? They're soo~ good!"

But she didn't pop out from behind the corner. It wasn't a prank. She wasn't here. She had really left them. And without even having the decency to say...something! No explanation! No goodbye!

Haruhi felt anger rise up in her. She never thought she'd have a reason to ever get so angry at Lorena. Lorena was her best friend. But this...had their friendship meant so little to her?

As the rest of the Hosts snooped around in Lorena's packed boxes in the kitchen and living room area, Haruhi went straight to Lorena's bedroom. If they were going to find any answers, they wouldn't be in a room where guests were allowed, they would be in a private place.

She pushed the door open and found only more cardboard boxes. Not even a bed or a nightstand. She poked through the boxes closest to her before she spied something out of the corner of her eye. It was a box that hadn't been taped up and stacked neatly. Peeking out from under one of the flaps was the head of a stuffed leopard. She lifted it up out of the box to get a better look at it. It was well worn, a patch on its side and its right ear precariously reattached.

She set it aside when she looked back in the box and saw what could only be a personal journal. She picked up the journal and ran her hands over its fancy leather cover. It looked like one of those things that was forbidden to open, but it was just _so_ tempting. She opened it at the first page and began reading:

_Dear Jenna,_

_I still can't believe you're gone. I keep expecting you to walk through that door and start yelling at me for getting hurt again. But it's been two days. Why haven't you come back yet?_

_Love,_

_Lorena_

Haruhi flipped to the next entry.

_Dear Jenna,_

_I'm so, so sorry. I failed you. I hate being stuck in this damn hospital. I couldn't even be there at your funeral. I can't help but wish I was being buried right beside you. At least then we'd still be together._

_Love,_

_Lorena_

Tears poured down Haruhi's face. All this time, she hadn't even really known Lorena. Not the real Lorena anyways. She turned a couple of pages forwards.

_Dear Jenna,_

_It's hard blowing out the candles without you. Happy 14th birthday._

_Love,_

_Lorena_

She turned the page.

_Dear Jenna,_

_I've finally broken the habit of not finishing my sentences. You're never going to finish them for me, are you?_

_Love,_

_Lorena_

"Hey, Haruhi! You find anything yet?" Hikaru called out to her from the living room.

Haruhi wiped away her tears hurriedly and sniffled, closing the journal. "No, nothing." She called back. It was just too personal. It didn't provide any answers, and she'd already invaded her privacy too much. But... This could let Haruhi see the true Lorena... Haruhi shook her head and placed the journal back in the box. No, that wouldn't be right. If she wanted to get to know the real Lorena, she would do it face-to-face. She put the stuffed leopard back on top of the journal, right where she had found it, and left the room, closing the door firmly behind her.

**~In America~**

Lorena sighed for what must've been the hundredth time that hour. She was _bored out of her skull_. She shifted her leg, which she had lost feeling in about five minutes ago due to the large furry animal laying on top of it.

She was currently lounging on her large king sized bed with most of her pets on or around her. Creature was lying across her legs, Balthazar-her husky- stretched out against her left side, and Kanda-her red panda-at her feet. The only critters not on the bed with them were Merlin, Mycroft, and Moose-her German shepherd-who was laying on the floor next to the bed due to his bad back. They were all currently sleeping-with the exception of the two lizards-having worn themselves out from the excitement of seeing her back home once again.

Lorena looked to her right to observe the smaller furry being under her right arm. It was an Australian shepherd puppy. It was truly one of the cutest things Lorena had ever held in her life. The puppy was still pretty young, but seemed to take an instant liking to her.

**~Flashback~**

Lorena crossed the threshold of her father's mansion with a heavy heart. It was approximately 6 in the morning, but due to jet lag she felt like it was bedtime. Her expression was blank and emotionless as she looked around the front hall.

She was almost immediately enveloped in a warm hug from her father that made her drop the duffle bags in her hands. He pulled away with a disappointed look when he realized she wasn't going to hug him back. "Come now, don't you want to give your beloved father a hug? We haven't seen each other in so long!" She just stared blankly at him. "Ouch." Her father was a tall man, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He had laughing lines and stress wrinkles on his face. He was the kind of man who always looked exhausted because he always was.

She leaned down to once more pick up her bags and made her way past him. "Now wait, Lorena." She stopped at the base of the grand staircase and turned back to him. "Don't you want to open your 'Welcome Home' present?" He held out a medium-sized box with holes cut out in the lid.

"No." She turned once again, this time managing to get up three steps before he beckoned her back.

"Lorena!" She turned her head back to him. "You know-deep down-that this is the best thing for you. It's not right for a sixteen year old girl to be living on her own in a foreign country." She made no reply. He sighed tiredly and lifted the lid off of the box. The head of an Australian shepherd puppy popped out from the box with a squeak. Its blue eyes landed on her as it looked around its new home. "You like him? I got him from a business partner of mine. His dog had a whole litter of these little guys, I got first pick. This one was the cutest." He put the box on the floor and lifted the little puppy out of it and onto the floor.

They watched as it scrabbled around on the hardwood floor, trying to gain some sort of traction so he could stand up properly. Finally, he was able to get his feet under him and started walking towards Lorena. Its trek was cut short, however, by the towering Step of Doom. Also known as the first step in the staircase.

Lorena stared down at the puppy with no change to her stone-cold expression as it struggled to get its front paws up on the step, squeaking at her for help the whole time. She turned around and continued up the rest of the stairs and disappeared around the corner. Her father sighed again, dragging a hand down his face. He also left to get to work.

Lorena waited until she could not hear footsteps anymore before dropping her bags at the top of the stairs and rushing down the steps. She carefully picked up the yapping puppy and cradled him to her chest. What? Animals were her weak spot. She trotted up the stairs once more, picking up her bags, and vanished into her room for a quick nap.

**~End Flashback~**

That was eight hours ago. It was now 2 p.m. In that time, Lorena had unpacked, taken her three hour nap, and played with all of her pets to the point of collapsing. Three dogs, a puppy, and a red panda take a lot of energy to play with.

Lorena scratched the puppy's head, right behind his fluffy ears. She hadn't named him yet. In fact, her father probably thought she didn't even want him. She didn't even know if she wanted him.

She closed her eyes and imagined that the warmth from Balthazar on her left side was Jenna. She imagined Jenna curled up in her side, sleeping the day away with her. She imagined that these past three years had been a bad dream, one that she would wake up from. She would wake up and find Jenna next to her, her life would be whole, and the world would be perfect. It didn't last long.

"Lorena!" Lorena's eyes snapped open, "Lorena!" The voice was insistent. She turned her head to look at the clock on her nightstand. The red numbers read 5:32 p.m. _I don't remember falling asleep..._ "LORENA!" The voice was getting angry now. She sat up and found that she had been freed from her prison of furry animals. The only pet that was still in the room with her was Creature, who was sitting in front of the door. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, her bare feet coming in contact with the cold hardwood floor.

She padded over to the door, pulling on an oversized hoodie that was hanging off the back of a chair. Her jeans were wrinkled from her unintentional nap, and her tank top was twisted uncomfortably. She fixed it with one hand as the other attempted to tame her wild bedhead. She padded down the hallway to the front hall where the voice was coming from.

She was temporarily blinded by the sunlight that lit up the front hall, but as her eyes adjusted, she saw Theresa standing at the bottom of the staircase with her hands on her hips. "Stop being a lazy, useless, sorry excuse for a daughter and get your ass down here." _I'm not your daughter. _Lorena thought bitterly. She grudgingly made her way down the stairs. "You've caused a lot of trouble for us." Lorena's gaze was locked on her fiddling hands, it was easier for Theresa to believe she was listening. "The least you can do to make it up to us is reorganize the books in your father's study. No dinner until you finish."

Lorena kept a blank face as she turned and walked down the hallway to the right. She stepped into the room, and as soon as she was through the door, Theresa slammed it shut behind her, locking the door. Lorena panicked and tried to open the door, but it was no use. Sighing, she turned and leaned her back against the wooden door. Closing her eyes as she rested her head against the door, she attempted to fight off her impending headache. Something cold and wet nudged at her bare foot. She looked down to see her new puppy. She scratched his little head before wandering over to the bookshelves.

She had alphabetized the first two shelves of books when the door unlocked and opened, her father stepping inside, leaving the door ajar. He looked surprised to find her there, "Ah, Lorena. I was just looking for you." He shuffled over to his desk and sat down in the big leather chair behind it. "There's something important we should discuss." He paused, "I'm not sure how to say this any other way, so I'll just get straight to the point. You are to be in an arranged marriage." Ah, so this was why Theresa wanted her in this room.

He barely got the last word out of his mouth when Lorena interrupted him, "What?" The book that she had been holding fell from her grasp and bounced off her foot painfully. She ignored the pain and instead focused on her father intensely. Shock and disbelief was written all over her face as she spluttered, "Wha- Why?"

"You're sixteen years old, I need to know you will be taken care of when I am gone. I need to know you will be loved." He tried to explain.

"No." She somehow managed to keep her voice level as she stared him down. "I refuse."

His brows drew together and he frowned deeply, "You will agree."

"Never." Her external expression was one of disinterest, but internally she was panicking wildly.

Her disinterest only made her father angrier, as his face got redder, his voice got louder until he was almost shouting at her, "You will! So long as you live under my roof and eat the food I provide, you will do as I say!"

Lorena paused, shocked at her father's anger. As she processed what he had just said to her, a smug grin crept up onto her face. "So long as I live under your roof and eat your food?" A way out.

His expression turned from angry to confused, "What?"

Lorena purposefully strode past him and out the open door, past Theresa who had been listening in on the conversation, and up the stairs. She ignored her fathers and stepmother's calls and questions, instead making her way into her room. She pulled her duffle bag out from under her bed and began packing her most prized possessions. She grabbed her favorite hoodie, her favorite skinny jeans, a couple pairs of shoes, some shirts, her favorite beanie, and some toiletries. The last thing she grabbed was a picture that stood on her nightstand. It was a picture of her and Jenna. It was their thirteenth birthday. It was the last picture they ever took together. She stuffed it into her bag, zipped it up, and strode down the hallway and down the stairs.

She practically ripped the front door open, "STOP!" Her father's voice was like a whip, lashing out at her back and leaving a bloody wound in its wake. Her free hand gripped the doorframe tightly, her foot paused in midair where she had almost crossed the threshold. "You walk out that door and I'll-I'll..."

"You'll what?" Lorena challenged, not turning back to face him. She didn't want him to see her face, for it would betray her inner turmoil. This was her home. It was familiar. Painful, but familiar. It was safe, this familiar pain. Would she take the risk for a newer, potentially stronger, kind of pain? Could she?

"I'll disown you. You would no longer be my daughter." His words left out a bit she knew he desperately wanted to say. _I dare you._

She turned her head to face him, eyes watery, she muttered just loud enough for him to hear, "I haven't been your daughter since Jenna died." The last she saw of him was how his face fell at her words, and his heart breaking.

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**A/N: So, tell me what you think! *jazz hands* *fades into the background***


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Hello! I know it's been forever since I last updated, but I won't bore you guys with my excuses. I'm just grateful you guys seem to understand that shit happens. Special thanks go to Zae Marks, Iris Butterfly, MuddyBeanBoots, Ruyuz, coreyfiniff, lenie954, sophiealison1998, EmpressLupin, S. , Warriorofbooks, Artimis99, SpiritofaWaterGoddess, Hexadorah, Eeveemew2, tactfullyAwkward, and clairdelunenoir for following and faving!**

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Lorena groaned loudly from under the large comforter in her hotel room. Her ringing phone blared in the silent room, jolting her from her deep sleep.

When she had left her father's house she went straight to the nearest five-star hotel, gotten a big room up high, and stayed up till three in the morning watching movies. Not the best idea.

She felt around the nightstand for it, unplugged it from her charger, and looked at the time. _7:14 a.m. _She groaned once more just for good measure and hit the green button. "Hello?" She sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Lorena? I'm so sorry, did I just wake you up?!"

"No, no," her sentence was interrupted with a yawn, "I've been awake for hours."

"Uh huh," he drawled out unbelievingly, "sure you have."

"Is there something you needed, Nate?" She began patting down her bedhead.

"Yeah, uh, Emma and Adam overheard me saying to Michael that you were back in America, and, uh... Long story short, they won't stop giving me the puppy eyes until they see their favorite auntie." Lorena stayed silent as she thought it over. She had lots of work to do now, but she did love those kids. Nate took her hesitation as a refusal, "Oh come on, Lorena! You don't have to look at their pleading puppy eyes every time you turn around. Please don't make me tell them that their favorite auntie isn't coming to see them despite finally being in the same country." He was practically begging her at this point.

Lorena sighed, "Alright, I guess I could spend a day or two with you guys. I do miss you all."

"Great!" She could hear the smile in his voice, "We're standing outside your house."

Lorena gaped, "Wha- Nate!"

"Whaaat? You know I can't resist their puppy dog eyes. They were really excited to see you!"

Lorena groaned loudly at him, "I'm not there! Look, just meet me at the café on the corner of 10th street. We can all have breakfast together."

"You got it! See ya there!" He hung up.

Lorena sighed again and flopped back on the bed. She stared at the ceiling for a good minute and a half before swinging herself out of the bed and towards the bathroom. She turned on the water and left it running to heat up, then going back out to grab some clothes.

She made a detour to the nightstand to grab her phone and dial another number. She arranged with the gruff man on the other end to hire some men to go to her father's mansion to pack and move her things. She would have them put everything in a storage locker for her until she could go through it all. Once it was all arranged, she hung up, plugged her phone back into the charger, and went back into the bathroom to shower.

**~Time Skip~**

_Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap. _Lorena's fingers drummed against her cup of hot chocolate. She had only been waiting at the café for Nate and the kids for a couple of minutes and already she had drank two steaming cups of the addicting drink. Her tongue was a bit burnt, but that didn't prevent her from tasting the delicious drink. It was like her personal crack.

She was conducting some business on her phone via email when they finally arrived. Their black hybrid parked on the street and had just turned off when the two kids sprang from the backseat and sprinted over to Lorena.

Mercilessly, she was tackled, they didn't even bother to slow down, just barreling right into her. She nearly fell out of her chair, but she steadied herself with a hand on the table. "Oof!" Was the only noise she could make seeing as they had driven any oxygen out of her lungs. They only giggled and hugged tighter.

Nate, barely standing he was laughing so hard, managed to get himself around the car and into the seat opposite Lorena. "They missed you!"

His smile was contagious, and Lorena couldn't keep the grin off of her face.

The tired waitress approached the table with her plastered-on smile. She was obviously on auto-pilot, the dark circles under her eyes that couldn't be covered completely by make-up, disheveled hair from constant fiddling, wrinkled blouse and apron, and tender feet didn't escape Lorena's observations. "What can I get you lovely people this fine morning? Some breakfast perhaps?" Lorena respected the woman, she was dead-tired and was still able to be pleasant in conversation. Her nametag read "Kate M."

Nate began to order for himself and the kids-who constantly interrupted him with what they _really wanted for breakfast-_and himself. When it came to Lorena, she just ordered another hot chocolate. The waitress nodded and left to give their order to the kitchen.

As they were waiting for their food, Lorena and Nate chatted about mostly trivial things. Whenever they would get to a chance to talk about something worthwhile, one or both of the kids would interject and change the subject.

Emma moved from Lorena's lap to Nate's and Adam stayed with Lorena. His little fingers picked at her collar as he asked her questions like, "Are you gonna leave again soon?" "Do you want a bite of my pancakes?" "Will you stay for Emma's birthday party?" "Why can't you stay at home with us? That way we can always have breakfast together." And other such cute-ness.

Lorena only laughed, she had tried to explain to the two of them many times of her reasons for living in Japan. Either they didn't understand, or they simply didn't want to accept it.

Saving her from answering, the waitress came back with a tray full of their food. She handed them their food and then left them to themselves to eat.

It was a chore getting the two hyper-active children to sit down and eat all of their food. But, after an hour, all of the hungry children were fed and happy.

Nate leaned to grab the check, but Lorena snagged it before he could. She clicked her tongue disapprovingly, "Now Nate, we've talked about this. I'm paying." There was no room for argument in her voice. Nate just sighed and shook his head, but she caught the smile on his face.

She signed the receipt and left the appropriate amount of cash on the table. They corralled the kids back into the car with the promise of them going to play with Lorena's pets. _Including_ the new puppy (which they got very excited about). Lorena herself sat in the passenger seat and Nate started the car and off they went.

The exhausted waitress sighed, it looked like another grueling day of working for minimum wage and dealing with her sleazy boss. The family that had just left looked so cute. And the kids were well behaved, which was good for her impending migraine. She placed the plastic tub for dirty dishes on her hip and began cleaning the table they had only just occupied. She finished putting all the dishes in and picked up the bill and cash. She glanced at the bill to see how much they tipped her, _Hopefully they weren't cheapskates._

She glanced at it, but quickly had to look back at it, she _must've _read the number wrong. But no. There it was. It read, "Tip: $5,000" and under it, "Have a good day, you deserve it." She looked around for cameras, she _must've _just been punked or something. But she could see no cameras or laughing people. She shook her head, _It's obviously some dumb joke, there's not even enough cash here to be-_ Tucked away in between two bills was a check. And the check was made out to Kate M. Kate smiled to herself and tucked the check into her apron before going back to work.

**~Time Skip~**

"Alright, you guys stay _right here_." Lorena left the two kids standing in the front yard of her father's mansion with Nate standing directly behind them.

Jokingly, she'd turn around suddenly during her trip to the front door as if she were trying to catch them moving from the spot she'd left them in. They just giggled at her antics.

She smiled at them as she finally made it to the front door. She pushed the door wide open and whistled loudly into the house. _Clack clack clack clack clack_ the sound of claws hitting hardwood floors could be heard before a line of dogs ran out of the house. First was Creature, then Balthazar, then the puppy, then Kanda, and finally Moose-the older dog not being able to run as fast because of his bad back.

Squeals and giggles were the only sounds filling Lorena's ears for the next few minutes as the kids ran around the large yard with the dogs chasing them around playfully. Nate was enjoying the sight from his seat on the ground with Moose lying next to him, who was enjoying the constant strokes from Nate.

Figuring that they'd be busy for a while, Lorena slipped inside the house and made her way up the stairs and to her room. She found that the movers she hired that morning had come and packed and shipped almost everything. The only things they left were the two aquariums with Mycroft and Merlin inside them.

She reached in and plucked Mycroft up first, allowing the chameleon to grip her shoulder. Then she reached down and grabbed Merlin, cradling the bearded dragon to her chest. She set them down once she had carried them outside, knowing that they wouldn't be able to go too far in the large yard.

"Lorena." It was her father. She didn't expect anyone to be home currently. She turned and faced him. He was standing stiffly in the doorway, his attention solely focused on her and not the kids running around crazily in his front yard. "We need to discuss some things."

She nodded and followed him inside, closing the door behind her.

**~Back with the Hosts~**

"Why haven't we done anything yet?" The question seemed to be the main question on the twins' lips.

Kyoya sighed, "Even if we were to fly all the way to America-and should I remind you that Haruhi still doesn't have a passport to do so-it's not as if we could just swoop in and kidnap her from her home and take her back here. She may not even _want _to come back."

"Don't be ridiculous, why would Lorena not want to come back?" Hikaru scoffed at the idea, shaking his head.

No one knew how to respond to that so they just stayed silent.

"Well... We can't just sit around and do nothing. We have to do something. Surely... There is something we can do, right?" Hikaru glanced at his brother as if he had all of the answers to his questions, but he didn't.

"I guess we'll just have to wait until we hear something either from Lorena or otherwise." Haruhi reasoned.

**~Back with Lorena~**

"Please reconsider this, Lorena. We can work this out. Just give me a chance."

"You were quite clear yesterday. The terms have been set. Do you agree to them or not?" Lorena stared hard into her father's eyes. He looked sad, but she would not back down. He'd started this, and she was going to finish it.

He took a deep breath. "Let's go over it once more. You will be written out of my will. You will no longer have any claim on any part of my company. Your last name will no longer be Darrow, but Boone-your mother's maiden name. Any and all of the money, property, and benefits that are properly yours or given to you as a present of some sort will be yours, anything and everything else will be mine. All money that you have earned shall be transferred to your personal checking account where you may do as you please with it." He looked up at her from the sheet of paper he was reading from. "Have I missed anything?"

She glanced around at the piles of official documents and papers that had been early drafts of the agreement. Many of them had scribbled out words and were crumpled up out of frustration. "Sounds like everything is in order." She smiled sweetly up at him, "My things that aren't being sold will be shipped back to Japan where I will be waiting for them, correct?" She stood up.

He mirrored her movements, "Of course. And you can use the jet to take you back to Japan, if you so wish."

He signed the agreement and held it out to Lorena to sign. She took it and was about to sign when her father stopped her. His large hand covered hers that was poised over the paper, pen in hand. He pressed down, to keep her from writing anything just yet. She looked up at him.

"Don't do this." It startled Lorena, the look on his face. The sadness it showed. "Please." He nearly choked on the word, just able to dislodge it from the back of his throat. Tears shone in his eyes.

Lorena could feel her eyes burning, it hurt to see her father-who she loved _so much- _be in pain because of her. Caused by her. "I have to." Her hands shook. "It's what's best for me. And you."

His sadness turned to anger. It scared her, how fast he was able to change expressions. "Don't you _dare _pretend you're doing me any favors. How could this be the best thing for me? For you?"

She tried to pull her hand away, but his grip was like steel. "For these last few years you've ignored me, bordering on neglect. You've buried yourself with work, just so you won't have to face me. It wasn't until I moved to Japan that you realized something was wrong."

"I can't help it!" He was yelling now, he'd let go of her hand, Lorena briefly wondered if he did it consciously or not. "How can I face you when I see _her _every time I look at you?! All I can think of when I see you is Jenna and how she'll never come back!"

Lorena's rage burned like a fire in her chest. "How do you think I feel?! _Every time_ I look in the mirror I see Jenna's bloodstained face staring back at me! When I look at you I see the disappointment you feel! That I'm not her! That I'm the one that lived! Believe me I wish I hadn't! I wish I'd stayed dead too!" Tears were streaming down her face.

"You ungrateful little bitch!" He lashed out and slapped her, hard. Immediately, he knew what he had done. All anger vanished and only regret and guilt was left. "No... My LoLo... I'm so sorry..."

But it was too late. Lorena had never had a reason to be terrified of her father, but this... It wasn't that he hit her... It was the look on his face just before he did. Lorena had never been a particularly brave person, but that look... Lorena hoped to God she'd never have to see it again.

She stared blankly at him. He was crying now, apologies spilling from his lips as she moved past him and signed the paper. Taking one copy for herself, she folded it up and put it in her pocket. Without another word, she left him in that office with only his tears and guilt-ridden words to console him.

Nate was sitting on the front steps drinking some ice water with the kids when Lorena finally came out. She'd been in there talking with her father for a couple of hours. He had taken the kids to a movie and to get ice cream in that time.

Lorena's dogs were all lying down in the shade of a big oak tree, tired out after running around and playing with the kids. The door opened.

Lorena stepped out alone, a blank look on her face.

"You're done!" Nate jumped up. He twirled her around happily.

"Nate! Put me down!" He just laughed and set her back down. She straightened her dress, "You and Michael have a bad habit of doing that."

Adam and Emma ran up to her and held on to both of her legs. "Come home with us! Come home with us!" They chanted, big doe eyes looking up at her.

Lorena melted, she just couldn't refuse them. "Alright, you win." The two of them cheered. "But..." They quieted down, "I'm gonna have to go in a separate car."

"No!" They loudly protested, moaning and groaning unnecessarily loudly.

"Yes!" She mocked their whining voices, "How else are we gonna bring all my pets over too?"

Their faces instantly lit up and they ran around in circles cheering. Suddenly it was okay that she was riding in a different car to their house.

"Alright you two, in the car." Nate herded them towards the car. He paused when he saw her cheek. "What happened to your face?"

"It's nothing." She brushed him off. "It doesn't matter anymore. I took care of it." He said nothing else, but still looked hesitant to let it drop. "Really Nate, I'm fine. But thank you for being worried for me." He nodded and left to put the kids in the car.

Lorena just smiled and shook her head at them, then setting off on the task of rounding up her pets. Her dogs followed her as soon as they saw her, and she had to hunt down Merlin and Mycroft, eventually finding them hiding under a bush.

When she turned back to the driveway to flag down her family's driver she found that he was already waiting for her. He held the door open patiently as she walked towards him. He smiled kindly at her as she slid in, followed by her pets. He had to lift Moose into the limo, the poor dog was just too old to get up there himself.

She instructed the man where to take her and he closed the door, returning to the front to do as she had asked.

Lorena watched contently as the dogs and lizards jostled around with the turns of the car. The puppy attempted to seek refuge in her arms. She picked him up with one hand and held him in front of her face. "You still do not have name." The wiggling puppy whined to be let down, his back claws leaving red marks down her arms. She ignored the pain. "How about... Percival?" The puppy whined again and she smiled.

She set him down on the seat next to her. "Percival it is then." She scratched behind Percival's ears. "Welcome to the family, Percival."

She let Percival nibble on one of her hands as she looked outside. She judged that they were about half way to Nate and Michael's house.

With her free hand, she reached up and gently touched her left cheek where her father had lost his temper. It hurt. She hoped it wouldn't leave a mark. The last thing she needed was everyone back home worrying any more than they already were. _If they even want anything to do with me again._

She really wished she had her cellphone right now. But even if she did, she still wouldn't call them. _The time difference is 14 hours. It's 3pm now, so that would make it 4am there._

While she knew she was making excuses for herself, she allowed it. She liked sticking her head in the sand. It was safe. But she also knew that it has consequences. The question was: Is she ready to face those consequences?

* * *

**A/N: Alright, now you can tell me how I'm a horrible person. Hopefully the next update won't take so long considering this is finals week for me. That means summer break is just a week away! Yaaay!**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Special thanks go to wealhtheow1, thethoughtsofawildheart, HipsterSnowWhite, ChoKyumiCassie, CxlumsWife, Psychobunny97, BizzyLizy, Squish The Squirrel Fish, PyroKitsune, toffeed, angel2u, Sgt. Shenanigans, Kora01, jinkiestrap, Tailorsteele21, Happyritas, DeadlyKris, DayDreamAria, and KasumiAkemi for following and faving.**

**wealhtheow1: Thank you so much, that means a lot to me!**

**Squish The Squirrel Fish: Thank you!**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: Here it is! And thanks, I did pretty well on them! :)**

**Kora01: Your review really meant a lot to me and made me want to be a better writer for you. Thank you so much. And I'm glad I could make you smile. :)**

* * *

Lorena held her new phone in her hand, just staring at it. Since her father had been paying for her phone before, she had to get a new phone, one that she would pay for. Luckily, she was able to get all her contacts and pictures from her old phone transferred to her new phone.

And now she was faced with a decision. To call Haruhi, or not to call Haruhi. Her thumb was poised over the "Call" button, with Haruhi's name selected.

There was no doubt she was going to be pissed, no matter the explanation. But this was _Haruhi_, the most understanding and forgiving person on God's green earth.

But this was a major thing. I mean, she left the _country _without as much as a goodbye to any of her friends.

But then again, she didn't have much choice. Theresa had cut her off completely from the outside world by taking away her phone and laptop. And even if she did try to contact them, Theresa had the power to ruin their lives. She had threatened to evict Haruhi and her father, destroy the Suoh's reputation, and who knows what else. She'd had no choice.

But she could've _tried_. She could've done _something. _But instead she stuck her head in the sand. She ignored the world in the hopes that it would in turn ignore her as well. And look where that got her.

Having friends was _hard._

Luckily, her inner turmoil was interrupted by Nate, "Hey, I think I found you a place." He looked up from his laptop and saw her with her phone in her hand. "Oh, sorry. Were you just about to call someone?"

Lorena tucked her phone in her pocket. "No." She smiled at him and joined him on his couch. "What'd you find?"

"It's a really nice place. A mansion, but not too big. Two stories. Five and half bathrooms, big kitchen with granite countertops, big open yards, a grand staircase, and six bedrooms. The best part? A big backyard pool." He clicked through pictures of the house, Lorena drank it all in.

"That does look very nice. I'll get it. Lemme make an offer on it." Lorena took the laptop and began typing away, making an offer on the house.

"Whoa, hold on." Nate put his hand on the screen to stop her, "Don't you want to at least see it before you buy it? There may be some things they left out of the pictures. Do you even have the money to buy and pay for this house? Or live on your own for that matter?"

Lorena scoffed, "Please, with all the work I've done for my father's company, and the gifts from distant relatives..." She moved his hand off the screen and continued typing away. "Besides, did you forget that I'm going to own two-thirds of Boone Industries in two years?" She finished typing and sent the email to the owners. "I have enough money _right now _to live very comfortably for the rest of my life without having to work one day more."

Nate rolled his eyes. "Rich people."

Lorena's returning remark was interrupted by Nate's laptop. _Ding. _"That was fast." Lorena opened the email and they both read it. Nate was only halfway down the page when Lorena jumped up cheering. She jumped around the room whooping in victory as Nate finally read the words, "We accept your offer of the full price. The house is yours." He promptly joined her celebration.

Both of them jumping around and cheering attracted the attention of Adam and Emma from the backyard.

"What'dya think they're cheering about?" Emma whispered to her brother.

"Dunno. Let's go see." Adam grabbed his sister's hand and led her inside. They both joined in on jumping and cheering.

When they all settled down to catch their breaths, Emma looked up at Lorena, "What are we cheering about?"

Lorena laughed at her and picked her up, "I just bought a big new house!" She spun her around happily, both of them giggling. When they stopped, Lorena smiled knowingly at the two kids. "You know what this means... Ice cream!" Immediately both kids began cheering again and scrambled to put on their shoes so they could go get some ice cream.

They finally got their shoes on and the four of them left.

* * *

Lorena carried an unconscious Emma and Nate carried a sleepy Adam. They had gone to get some ice cream, spent some time at the park, and had dinner at a nice restaurant, so now the kids were past their bedtimes.

They were only a few blocks away from Nate's house, but Lorena's arms were getting tired. She shifted Emma from one arm to the other.

"Thank you, again, for treating us to dinner and ice cream." Nate put his free arm around Lorena's waist to keep any weirdos away.

"It was my pleasure. I really wanted to celebrate getting my new house. Thank you for searching for a good one for me."

They finally arrived at the house, the two passed out kids were set gently into their beds, and left to sleep.

Lorena and Nate had just sat down on the couch to do some more online shopping when there was a knock at the door.

"Who could that be at this time of night?"

_Knock knock knock._

"Let's see." Lorena stood up and followed Nate to the door.

On the other side of the door was a grinning Michael in his army uniform. Nate nearly tackled him, hugging and kissing him. Michael returned the actions just as excitedly. When they broke apart, Michael grabbed Lorena and gave her a big bear hug.

As she hugged him back, she felt him leave a kiss on each of her cheeks, which felt kinda gross because he was crying. Finally he set her down and they pulled him and his duffle bag inside.

"Are the kids already to bed?"

"Yeah, they passed out on the way back here from the park."

"Dang. I tried my best to get here soon enough so I could see them before they went to bed. Oh well, I'll just surprise them in the morning."

Nate laughed, "Yeah, and they wouldn't be able to sleep if they knew you were home." They all laughed as they moved to the living room where they could sit and talk. "Speaking of, how long are you home for?"

"Two weeks."

"That's not too bad."

"Yeah. And I had no idea Lorena would be here, but I'm glad you are."

"Me too." Lorena was seated across from Michael and Nate, the coffee table between them. "Unfortunately, I have to go back home to Japan the day after tomorrow."

"So soon?" Both Michael and Nate whined simultaneously.

"I have to get back to school. And my friends. I'm going to see if I need to re-enroll tomorrow, finalize the details for my new house-"

"You got a house over there already?"

"Yeah, it's a mansion, but not too big. Perfect for me and the critters."

"That's awesome! You _have_ to send us pictures."

"Definitely." She yawned, "I think I better head off to bed now. Behave you two."

They bade her goodnight as she walked down the hallway to the guest bedroom and flopped on the bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Lorena was in a deep sleep when she was suddenly jerked awakened by two rowdy children jumping on her. She had slept on the floor in their room at their request, but if she had known that this is how she would be woken up, she would've declined.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" They chanted. "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!"

Lorena grabbed the both of them and held them against her chest. "I know. He came in last night." The silly voice she used made them giggle.

"Do I hear the laughter of my lovely children?" Michael nudged the cracked door open, two mugs of coffee in his hands.

"Daddy!" They squealed and practically launched themselves out of Lorena's arms and flung themselves at his legs, hugging him tightly.

"Woah, careful! You guys are getting too strong for your old man." He looked up from their smiling faces to Lorena's-who had stood up when she was freed. "Here you go." He handed her a mug of coffee.

She sipped it and hummed contentedly. The taste of creamer and sugar blended perfectly with the bitterness of the coffee. "Thanks."

"Alright, who wants eggs and bacon for breakfast?"

"Meeeee!"

Laughing, Michael made his way back down the hallway to the kitchen, one kid clinging to each of his legs.

* * *

"I should really get back to Japan tonight."

"You really have to go so soon? I just got heeereee..." Lorena stared blankly across the table at Michael in response to his whining.

The five of them had gone to the park with the kids. Nate was playing with the kids on the playground as Lorena filled Michael in on the details of recent events.

He sighed. "Fine. I understand. You're missing school, aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's why I have to go as soon as possible." There was a comfortable silence. Out of the corner of her eye, Lorena could see Michael fidgeting, picking at the wooden table. "What's wrong, Michael?"

"It's-... I just-..." He groaned, "I have a confession to make, and you're going to hate me once I do."

Lorena faced him fully, brows furrowed. "What are you talking about? It would take an awful lot to make me hate you."

"I told your friends about Jenna." He blurted it out so fast that it took a minute for the words to register in her brain.

"You did...what?" She didn't scream. She didn't yell. In fact, her voice was completely level. And that's what scared him the most.

He focused his eyes on the table, which he was harshly picking at. "I...showed your friends a picture of you and Jenna..." Lorena's back was ram-rod straight and her breathing was shallow. A fire burned in her eyes. He rushed to explain himself, "They wanted to know why your stepmother was taking you back here to America. They were worried about you!" Lorena said nothing. "Please say something. Yell. Scream at me. Be angry. Please."

Lorena's face was blank as she pulled out her phone and typed something on it. "The jet can only take me back at one time today, and that's in two hours. I should go get packed and ready." She stood from the table and began walking away, towards the house.

"Lorena, please don't ignore me! I had to tell them! They deserved to know!" His calls were unheeded as Lorena kept walking, never turning back or hesitating.

* * *

"Don't go~!" Both Emma and Adam were holding onto Lorena's legs, trying to keep her from getting onto the jet.

All of her luggage was already aboard, and the dogs and lizards had been sedated for the flight, they too were already on the jet. The only thing left was for Lorena to say her goodbyes.

She knelt on the ground so she was level with the kids. "I wish I didn't have to. But I have to go back to school. But I _promise_, as soon as I get a vacation, I will come _straight back here._ And then we can spend more than just a few days together." She hugged them tightly.

"We'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, little ones." She kissed their cheeks.

She stood up and turned towards Nate and Michael. She hugged Nate and they kissed each other's cheeks. She then turned to hug Michael, who had been awkwardly standing on the sidelines the whole time. She opened her arms to him, and he eagerly gave her a bone-crushing bear hug. "You're not mad at me?" He whispered in her ear.

"No. You did the right thing."

He smiled and hugged her tighter. "I'll miss you. Have fun in Japan."

"I'll miss you too." She let go of him and took a couple steps back. She turned and began walking towards the plane, constantly looking back over her shoulder so she could still be able to see them. When she was at the top of the stairs, she waved and went in.

Once she was in a seat, she looked out of the window to see them walking away, Emma holding Nate's hand, and Adam holding Michael's. Lorena's heart ached. She did love them so.

She didn't take her eyes off of them until they got back into the airport, and the plane was beginning to ascend.

* * *

Lorena sighed for what must've been the tenth time in a half an hour. She had landed in Japan two hours ago, watched as her things were loaded into a large truck an hour and a half ago, and got in a limo that would take her to her new home separately an hour ago. The problem was, the limo broke down. All of a sudden the engine started smoking real bad and they had to pull over.

And it was hot in this car.

Hot as Satan's sweaty balls.

Of course, it didn't help that she was wearing a black leather jacket, ripped jeans, a beanie, and black converse.

Lorena got out of the car and stood in the shade of a nearby shop's awning.

The driver approached her, "I do apologize once again Miss Boone. But the tow truck said they won't be here for another hour." He wrung his hands nervously.

She waved it off, "It's not your fault. I'm sure this is not the way you wanted to spend your day. There's no way you could've known there was something wrong with the limo." Relief washed over the driver's face as he sighed. He took off his cap to wipe the sweat off his brow before placing it back onto his head. "Here." She pulled her wallet out of her back pocket, "Why don't you go buy yourself a drink? Can't have my favorite driver passing out of dehydration on me." She handed him some cash with a smile. He thanked her and went into the store behind her to do just that.

Next thing she knew, she was on the ground on her side, staring at her reflection in her aviator sunglasses that she could've _sworn_ were just resting on her nose.

And then someone was grabbing her arm and pulling her back up and pulling her along somewhere.

Now, Lorena had been a victim of attempted kidnapping, but this didn't feel malicious. She could only see the boy's black hair.

He pulled her behind a parked car. He faced her and held a finger to his lips, shushing her before she could say anything.

"Mizuno! Where did you go, you little monster! You'll pay for this!" Lorena and the boy peeked over the hood of the car to see a woman covered in what looked to be flour and perhaps cinnamon.

The two of them ducked back down when the woman looked over towards them and stifled their giggles behind their hands. They peeked back over to see the woman going back into her shop, slamming the door as she did.

Now that the coast was clear, they stood up and made their way back under the awning where Lorena had been standing a minute ago. The boy-presumably Mizuno-bent down and picked her sunglasses up, wiped them off and handed them back to her with an apologetic smile.

She put them back on and held her hand out to him, "I'm Lorena. Lorena Boone. And you are?"

He shook her hand before pulling his phone out of his pocket and typing something on it. When he was done, he held the phone up so she could read it, "Hello. It's nice to meet you. My name is Mizuno Kenzo. I apologize profusely for running into you, that woman terrifies me."

Lorena hesitated, "Uh, pardon me for asking, but are you sick or something?" He shook his head. "Mute then?" He nodded and smiled warmly at her. "Oh, okay. Do you know any sign language or anything?" Another nod.

He began typing on his phone once more. "I know JSL and ASL."

"I know ASL, but not JSL."

_Wonderful!_ He signed to her. _This makes it so much easier._

Something about him intrigued her. She had only just met him, but she felt like she'd known him her whole life. She felt completely comfortable around him.

He looked old enough to be a second or third year. He was average looking, not too bad, not the best either. In fact, nearly everything about him was average.

"So, who was that woman?"

_That was my nanny, she doesn't like my pranks._

Lorena laughed, "You did that to her? What did you do?"

_I tipped a bag of flour and nutmeg on her head. _He smiled mischievously.

Lorena got a hold of herself, "Why?"

_She keeps bugging me about getting a job. And I've tried to tell her that I have an interview for one today, but she just doesn't seem to understand._

_"_A job? And here I was thinking you were a second or third year." She scratched the back of her head.

_Oh, I would be a third year, but I finished school early. _Lorena hummed in understanding. _You know, I couldn't help but notice your limousine is broken down, do you need a ride somewhere?_

Lorena waved her hands hurriedly, "Oh, no no. I'm not going anywhere in a rush. And I couldn't ask that of you."

_No, it's I who must impose on you. You see, I need an excuse to get away from that, _he pointed over his shoulder towards the shop that the fuming woman had come out of just before. _We can just ride around until we think of something to do if you want._

Lorena considered the risks, but Mizuno seemed trustworthy. And if he wasn't, she'd beat him up and leave him for the police.

Lorena shrugged, "Okay, but I have to do something real quick." She left him there to go inside the shop and inform the driver to take her things to her new address, she also tipped him extra for his trouble. When she came back out, Mizuno was waiting for her on top of a motorcycle, a black helmet in hand. "You have a motorcycle?" She asked skeptically. He nodded and gestured for her to take the helmet, but she shook her head and pointed to the beanie on her head and her curled hair. He nodded and put the helmet on himself, then waving her over towards him.

As soon as she had mounted the motorcycle, he sped off down the road, causing her to hold onto him tightly. But once the initial shock was over, she relished in the feeling of freedom, the wind whipping through her hair, and watching as the buildings and streets sped past.

She didn't know how much time had passed until they began slowing down. She opened her eyes and looked around, seeing that they were parking in a courtyard of a school, but it wasn't Ouran. "Where are we?"

Mizuno hopped off the bike and took his helmet off, _I hope you don't mind, it's just I promised my sister that I would come see her in this play that they're putting on here. This is Lobelia Academy._

"Oh, Lobelia." She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on already.

_What is it?_ He helped her get off the motorcycle and they began making their way inside.

"It's just, I've had a run in with a few girls from Lobelia. I'm from Ouran, you see, and they came to visit... I wasn't there for most of the time so I'm not really sure what happened the whole time, but they don't exactly like me or most of my friends."

_Well, we can just watch then. Is that okay with you?_

_"_Yeah, that sounds good." She smiled at him.

They didn't talk anymore until they had sat down in some seats that were in the middle of the room, surrounded by screaming fangirls.

_So, tell me more about yourself, _Lorena signed to him seeing as she wouldn't be heard over the noise. _Where did you learn American Sign Language?_

Mizuno smiled at her, _New York. My parents moved there for business for a couple years, and no one there knew any Japanese Sign Language, so I had to learn. What about you?_

_I didn't speak for two years, so my parents made me learn so I could still be able to communicate to people. _

_If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you speak for two years?_

Lorena paused before carefully selecting her words, _Because of a...personal loss._

_I'm so sorry._

_No worries. So, do you have any other siblings?_

Mizuno smiled at the change of subject, _Yes, a younger brother in primary school and a baby brother who is three years old. And you?_

_Your family sounds adorable. I have an older sister who is in college in Germany. _They sat in a comfortable silence until Lorena began getting uncomfortably hot. _Is it just me or is it really hot in here? _She tried fanning herself with her hands, but it did nothing.

_Yeah, it is really hot in here. I think it's because it's so packed._

Lorena unzipped and took off her leather jacket, leaving her in her Captain America tank top. _Much better._

Before they could continue their conversation, the lights dimmed and everyone quieted. The curtains rose, and the play began. "What the..." Lorena sank a little in her seat as she whispered to herself. Mizuno looked at her with concern, but opted to just put a hand on her arm, letting her know he was there for her. "That's my friend." Mizuno looked on stage to see a girl in a poofy dress and heavy makeup. He pointed at her with a questioning expression. "Yes, her. She goes to Ouran with me." She stayed slouched in her seat, attempting to be non-conspicuous.

And so, the show went on...and on...and on.

Finally, the main guy's death scene comes up. The play is wrapping up, Lorena's pretty sure she fell asleep a couple times in the middle, but so did Mizuno, so it was okay.

The guy was making his long-winded death speech when all the fangirls in the crowd starting whispering about a kiss-scene coming up. This caught Lorena's attention, but she wasn't really worried about it, they most likely wouldn't do that...right?

All of a sudden, spotlights began turning on, and all of them were focused on six males standing against the wall... And they just so happened to be the Host Club and Ranka-minus Kyoya.

Lorena cursed in what must've been a mixture of German, English, _and _Japanese as she sank incredibly lower into her chair. Mizuno looked seriously worried for her mental health, but she just shushed him and pulled on his sleeve, "Lean forward a bit, I gotta hide from them." He did so, but not without shooting her a look that said_ Explain later_.

Lorena had to cover her face as Tamaki ran up on the stage yelling about how he was going to save Haruhi and keep her kiss from being stolen. She had to bury her face in Mizuno's arm as Ranka and the twins joined him. She gave up all hope on her friends when they all started chasing poor Haruhi around on the stage, and instead pulled out her phone and began recording it. She knew she would find it _very _amusing later, but she was so far-gone in second-hand embarrassment that almost nothing could've snapped her out of it.

Only when Mizuno began tugging her along down the aisle did she snap out of the trance. She stayed low as they snuck out the doors, and they ran down the hallway to the bike. Mizuno gave her back her jacket.

_Where now? _He signed.

"I would really appreciate it if you would drive me to my place."

_Tell me where, I'll get you there. _They both smiled at each other.

* * *

Mizuno pulled up to the mansion and just stared at it for a minute. _Damn this is a nice house. _

Lorena laughed, "Thank you. And I would invite you in but I literally have nothing in there. Not even a chair."

_Don't worry about it, I have to go to my interview anyways. _

"Uh, before you go. Can you put your number in my phone? I figure you could talk to someone that you don't have to write everything down or something. Only if you want to." He took her phone and began typing in it. "I know we can't call each other, but we can text, right?" He nodded and gave her phone back. She then began typing, but finished quickly. "There, I just messaged you so you now have my number as well."

He nodded, _Thanks for trusting me not to be a serial killer. _

"Anytime." She began walking backwards towards her front door, "See ya."

He waved, put his helmet back on, and drove away.

* * *

**A/N: All righty, don't be afraid to tell me what you think, I await eagerly. Seriously, I have nothing to do. This chapter was kinda long, but it needed to be, and I'll have the next one out soon if everything goes as planned. Until next time!**


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Special thanks go to them3crazygirls, .xX, Monobear Lawliet, UnICoRN MaGiCc, MU5IC-FRE4K, HimeCiela, VioletRose16, FanOfPiPercy, carmengal, pessimisticiguana for following and faving.**

**KasumiAkemi: Here it is! Hope you like it!**

**YuYuHakishoObsesser: Thank you!**

**Happy face48: Thank you so much!**

**them3crazygirls: Here you go~~!**

**GoldenLombaxGirl: Yes it was! Priceless!**

**Shadow Lawliet: Ohmygosh ohmygosh asdfghjklaf *squeals* You precious cinnamon roll~!**

**wajagirlliz: Thank you!**

**MU5IC-FRE4K: You are too precious for this world! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!**

* * *

Boxes were strewn about the room, dogs sniffed every corner, reptiles skittered around their aquariums, moving men could be heard all over the house placing the newly bought furniture, and Lorena stood in the middle of the chaos. She orchestrated where what furniture was going where and _Oh just put the boxes in the kitchen_. and _Creature get out of the way_. and _Be careful with that one please_.

After two hours of this and some well-spent money, Lorena collapsed onto her bed. She still had many boxes of new stuff to unpack and final details to iron out. But for now, sleep sounded like a very nice option. So without even changing into pajamas or getting under the covers, she fell asleep.

* * *

Lorena stood in the doorway of her kitchen, clothes wrinkled and hair tangled, and a frown set on her face. Her kitchen was completely inaccessible. Cardboard boxes were stacked on every inch of floorspace, haphazardly stacked all the way up to the countertops, and the smaller boxes were stacked on the counter tops themselves. There wasn't even enough space to walk through the room.

Lorena hit her head against the doorframe. _So. Much. Stuff_. Thankfully, her forehead was saved by Percival, the little puppy standing on his back legs, his front ones pushing her. His little tail wagged at a supersonic speed and his little yips heart meltingly cute. She leaned down and scratched his little head.

She stood back up after a minute, and walked back to her room and grabbed her phone.

For the next hour and a half, Lorena made arrangements for her new home. Such as, hiring a couple maids, a professional dog sitter (that was also willing to take care of her reptiles as well), a gardener, a chauffeur, and a decorator. She also made an appointment with the Headmaster of Ouran to discuss her re-enrollment.

Next order of business: school. It was already mid-morning, so everyone would be in class, which would make things much easier.

* * *

Because she had to walk there, it was about mid-day by the time she arrived. Everyone was in class, thankfully, so the halls were empty.

A secretary directed her straight to the Headmaster's office to speak with him for their appointment.

She knocked, and waited for him to call her in. "Thank you for seeing me, Headmaster. I hope I'm not inconveniencing you too terribly."

"Not at all. Please, sit." He gestured to one of the chairs in front of his large oak desk.

She perched on the edge of the chair, "If you don't mind, I would prefer to get right to the point. I would like to re-enroll to Ouran Academy."

Headmaster Suoh nodded and shuffled the papers on his desk. When he found the forms he was looking for, he held them up for her to see. "These are your official transfer request forms." He then proceeded to rip them up and throw them away. "Consider it denied."

Lorena smiled kindly at the man. "Thank you, Headmaster, I really appreciate it. I could return to class as soon as tomorrow if you'd like."

He raised a hand to stop her from rising from her chair, "I have one condition, though." She sat back down, "You are registered as a first year, and yet you are old enough to be a second year. The board feels that it would reflect badly upon our school."

Lorena absorbed this information for a minute before replying, "What are you going to do?"

He leaned back in the chair, "I'm going to move you to Class 2-A."

"But, it's the middle of the school year..."

"I am confident that you will be able to handle the jump in academics. And as I understand it, you are a popular person, so you shouldn't have problems making friends either."

Lorena nodded, "I understand. Thank you, sir."

He nodded back, "That is all. Return to school tomorrow." He went back to filling out paperwork as she stood and left.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Lorena was unpacking. She first moved each box to their correct room, and then went room by room unpacking what could be unpacked. By the time she was mostly done, school was over and the Host Club would be ending soon.

_I really should call Haruhi before it's too late._ Lorena thought.

Without allowing herself to psych herself out of it, she opened her phone and called Haruhi. After three rings, she picked up.

"Lorena! Oh my God it's been so long since I've seen you! Where are you? What's going on?"

"Hi Haruhi." She hoped that her voice didn't let on how anxious and scared she felt. "I'm back in Japan." Her voice was small and soft, almost whispering into the phone.

"You are?! I'm coming over right now!"

Lorena could hear shuffling through the phone, "No, no. I'll come to you. I'm no longer in my apartment, so it would just be easier for me to come to you." She made sure she had her keys before leaving the house as she said this.

Haruhi sighed, "We were all so worried about you. You just disappeared. Out of the blue. We went to your apartment and found that everything had been packed up into boxes. It was only because of Kyoya that we knew you were leaving the country."

Lorena hailed a cab and informed the driver of where to take her. "I know, and I'm so sorry. I promise I will explain everything when I get there."

"Okay."

* * *

Lorena's hand rested on the doorknob to Music Room #3. She took a deep breath.

The urge to run was overwhelming.

Lorena had never been a particularly brave or selfless person. Quite the opposite, in fact, she was selfish and cowardly. But she would defy her nature for today. She owed that much to them.

The door felt like it was made of three-inch steel as Lorena opened it with dread.

On the other side, she found her friends all standing in a line with the parental "I'm-disappointed-in-you" pose. She breifly wondered if they planned it or if it just happened.

She gulped as the door clicked closed behind her.

There was a tense silence.

"What happened? Why did you cut us off like that? Do we really mean so little to you?" Haruhi looked both sad and angry.

The hurt expression on her friend's face broke her heart. "Of course not, Haruhi. If I could've contacted you, I would've." She sighed. "Theresa... She completely kept me from any contact with the outside world. She took away my laptop and my phone, and I was never out of her sight. And..."

"And?"

"And even if I could've, I wouldn't have. She was going to get you and Ranka evicted! And ruin the Suoh's reputation, cut off some of the Ootori's trading partners, and who knows what else."

Haruhi came over and hugged her tightly. "You were protecting us." She breathed.

Lorena hugged her back. "I'm sorry. Can you guys ever forgive me?"

Next thing she knew she was in the middle of a group hug, the twins and Tamaki cooing, "Awww, of course we forgive you Rena-chan~!"

Hikaru pulled away from nuzzling her head to ask, "Wait, you're here to stay, right?"

She laughed, "Yeah, unfortunately for you I'm not going anywhere." Another few seconds of hugging passed before Lorena remembered, "Oh yeah, in related news: I'm now a second-year."

* * *

_Ba-dump. _Lorena fell to the floor after ungracefully tripping over Haruhi's table. Luckily, Haruhi didn't see it, she only saw her lying on the floor. "What're you doing on the floor?"

"Just chillin'." She lied, her head resting on her hand leisurely as she played it off.

"Okay..." Haruhi probably thought she was really weird, but seemed to believe it.

When Haruhi sat down at the other side of the table, Lorena sat up correctly.

They sipped on tea and nibbled on crackers for a while.

Haruhi broke the comfortable silence, "Why did you never tell us about Jenna?"

She struggled to find the right words, "Uhm..." She fiddled with her teacup. She was going to make some witty comment, but when she looked at Haruhi, she found that she couldn't. "It hurt too much... It still feels like yesterday that it happened...I'm actually kind of surprised that the others didn't ask me about her. I was expecting a bombardment of questions."

"We want to respect your privacy, we understand why you wouldn't be able to bring it up. I'm gonna risk asking, but what exactly did happen?"

"I'm sorry, but I just can't..."

Haruhi interrupted her, "No, of course not, you're right. _I'm _sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"It's fine." Lorena waved it away. "But I still feel as if I owe you something." She thought for a minute until a solution popped into her head. "I know, ask me anything. Except about Jenna."

Haruhi thought for a minute before straightening her back with purpose. "Tell me about how you got some of your scars. If that's okay."

She nodded. Moving around the table, she lifted the front of her shirt.

Her scars were not neat or pretty. They were ugly. And disfiguring. They caused her skin to stretch and discolor. Even gold-hearted Haruhi cringed a bit when she saw them. Everyone did.

Pointing to the large burn scar, she said, "I got this one when I had to lean across a burning beam to catch someone." She pointed to the large curved scar going diagonally across her torso, "This one I got from shrapnel in an explosion."

"Where does it start and end?" Haruhi asked curiously.

Lorena pulled down the waistband of her jeans on her left side to show her that it ended just above the top of her thigh. At the same time, she also pulled up the right side of her shirt so she could see that it started at the bottom of her ribcage.

She pointed to the one just above her right hip, "This one is from a surgery I had to get to fix my hip bone when I broke it."

"And this one?" Haruhi's fingers ghosted over the circular scar, her index finger could fit in the hole if she tried.

"I got that the day she was murdered. For that matter, that's when I also got this one." She pointed at the one that went across her torso.

"But you said you got that from shrapnel in an explosion. How did-?"

Lorena cut her off-forgetting what she had said only moments ago-, "We were at the mall, when it happened. It was a weekend, so it was pretty busy. We were in a shop, just outside of the food court-we were planning to get some ice cream once we were done there." Lorena's eyes were unfocused, lost in the memory, a contemptful smile on her face. "All of a sudden, some..._crazy_ guy comes into the foodcourt and just...opened fire." She had to pause for a second, "Since we were so close, plenty of bullets made it into the store. She got two in the chest. I got one there-" she once again pointed at the mark in question, "-which punctured my lung, only to be stooped by the other side of my ribcage." She sighed, "Not a minute later, he committed suicide...using a bomb." She chuckled bitterly. "A piece of metal came flying at me, giving me this." She motioned to the large scar.

Haruhi didn't bother to wipe away her tears, instead going for a hug. Her arms wrapped around Lorena's neck tightly. "Thank you for trusting me this much."

Lorena hugged her back just as tightly, allowing herself to be completely immersed in the warmth and comfort of it. She buried her face in her friend's shoulder, closing her eyes and letting her heart be at peace for now. "I'm just glad things are back to normal."

* * *

Lorena stood confidently in front of the class, hiding a smirk at Tamaki's excited behavior.

"Class, this is Lorena Boone. She is new to this class but not to this school, so many of you may already know her. Regardless, please do your best to make her feel welcomed here." The teacher finished up her introduction and motioned her to an empty seat at the front of the room.

As she had mentioned, many of the students in the class already knew Lorena, but the ones who didn't know her introduced themselves accordingly.

When it came to be lunch time, Tamaki and Kyoya approached her. "Rena-chan~! We have a _very_ important request for you!" Tamaki yanked her out of her seat with his usual flamboyance.

Kyoya explained for her, "Seeing as you are a memeber of the Host Club who is not a first-year, Tamaki wants you to join the rest of us and Nekozawa in our venture to scare the wits out of Haruhi and the twins."

Lorena smiled at them, "That sounds like a lot of fun. Do we get to dress up in scary costumes?"

"Of course!" Tamaki sparkled and shimmered at the idea.

"I have the perfect idea for my costume." Lorena smirked mischievously at the thought of it.

* * *

It was _perfect. _Down to the last detail.

Lorena was dressed up as a widow who killed her husband. She wore a lacy black dress with matching black heels, a black spiked bracelet, a skull ring, and a black hat with a little black veil tilted on her head. Her weapon was a fireman's axe (the blade was foam-for safety purposes).

The plan was as follows: Tamaki would scare them away from the stairs and down the hallway. Takashi would be waiting in the first room as Frankenstein. Honey would be waiting in the second room as a pumpkin-head (though he insisted he was the Wolf-man). And finally, Lorena would be waiting in the third room to give them the final blow.

She didn't have to wait long. Getting in position when she heard the screams, she was standing sideways to the door, and hid the axe behind her leg.

She almost couldn't stand the excitement as she heard the first two rooms being opened by Soga and Kaoru and their screams of terror. She put a hand to her face as the tears sprang to her eyes.

_Bam!_ The doors hit the walls as they were flung open.

Her sobs echoed in the empty room, the light spilling in from the hallway illuminating her figure.

"H-...Hello?" She almost didn't hear Soga's stuttering voice.

"My-My husband... He...He..." She sobbed. Facing them fully, the axe was revealed, "He was too easy to kill!"

They screamed bloody-murder as they ran away, only to be pushed into a room and trapped there by Nekozawa and his servants.

* * *

"Wheee~!" Honey cheered as he swung on Lorena's shoulders.

"Careful, Honey. It's not easy balancing in high heels, and I don't want to fall." She held him to her side so he couldn't swing anymore as they made their way out of the school.

"Rena-chan, do you wanna go trick-or-treating with me and Takashi?"

She paused, "Oh. I'm sorry, but I already agreed to go trick-or-treating with someone else."

"Who?"

She smiled, "Oh, just a new friend I made. I met him not long after I got back here." Honey's face fell, disappointed. "I promise next year I'll trick-or-treat with you guys." He cheered up at that.

"That sounds great! Right, Takashi?"

Startled, she looked over her shoulder to see that he was indeed following along behind her. "How long have you been there?"

"Not long."

"Uh-huh..." She looked forward once again and saw that Mizuno was waiting for her at the school gate. "Oh! There"s my ride." She handed Honey to Takashi. "See you guys later!"

They watched her walk away and say something to the person before she got on the back of the motorcycle and drove away.

"I wonder who that was..." Honey muttered from atop Takashi's shoulders.

* * *

_2:19 am._ Her phone was blindingly bright in the darkness, illuminating the way up her driveway. Heels in one hand, her phone and keys in the other, she almost couldn't get the door open.

Her stomach ached from all the candy and food she had shared with Mizuno, but it was _worth it_. Everything they ate was _so damn good._

She locked the door behind her and padded to her room, nearly killing herself when she almost tripped over Creature. She plugged in her phone and changed for bed, washing the makeup off her face. She only noticed her texts when she was getting into bed.

_Mizuno: I had a lot of fun tonight. _

_Lorena: Me too. _

_Mizuno: I wanted to thank you, for treating me like a person, inspite of my disability. Not many people do that. You don't make me feel like I'm inconveniencing you when we speak in sign language. Thank you._

_Lorena: Of course. It makes me happy that you can be so comfortable around me. Thank _you _for being such a wonderful friend. _

_Mizuno: Alright, enough mushy talk. Isn't it past your bed time? Go the fuck to sleep. _

_Lorena: Alright, alright. Goodnight. Be safe. _

_Mizuno: Goodnight. Sweet dreams. Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite. Whatever you Americans say. _

She shook her head and turned her phone off, rolling over to snuggle up against Percival. Within the minute, she was asleep.

* * *

**A/N: So, tell me what you think. Up next: Kasanoda!**

** cgi/set?id=168423959**


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: Hi guys! This chapter was hard for me to write, emotionally draining. If I've done it right, you'll need some tissues ;). Special thanks go to mandy618, Stormglass, DragonsBleedToHeal666, HologramHoney, Darkelfangel13, Tari Luinwe, xxyangxx2006, iheartshika31, LoveBetray, and MsWolfGirl for following and faving.**

**BizzyLizy: Well, I love hearing it every time ;).**

**Omnomnom: I love him too! And you present some good points, and I should've explained myself better, I'm sorry for any confusion. In the last chapter, she is referred as selfish and cowardly because that is what she thinks of herself. She easily forgets the brave and good things she has done and easily remembers the cowardly and bad feelings she has (which I believe many people do, including myself). As for her father and stepmother letting her go so easily, they did it because they believed that they had no more right to try and stop her once she was disowned. In their minds, disowning her is the same as saying that she is no longer their child. And they are no longer her parents. And so, since they aren't her parents, they have no right to force her to do something she doesn't want to do. In a legal sense, they are still her parents and do have that authority over her, but not in a personal sense. I hope that makes sense. Sorry for rambling.**

**GoldenLombaxGirl: I THINK you might be right. :)**

**YuYuHakushoObsesser: Here it is! Feel free to tell me what you think!**

**Darkelfangel13: Thank you! And you are completely correct. It was very rushed because I did just want to get it out to you guys. I will eventually go back and smooth it out, though.**

**xxyangxx2006: Thank you thank you thank you! That means so much to me! As for who she would've been arranged to be married to...just between you and me...*looks around* *motions for you to come closer* *whispers* Takashi Morinozuka. Mwhahahaha!**

**Elvea Theb: Thank you so much! I'll let you in on a little secret, fluff is coming for Mori and Rena, don't you worry. Much fluff. Will they kiss? Maybe. Maybe not. We'll just have to see ;)**

* * *

"Oh! I understand now! You're so smart, Haruhi." Lorena smiled at her friend from across the table.

Ever since Lorena had been advanced to the next year, she'd been having trouble understanding the math. Haruhi had been helping her everyday since then, tutoring her from when the clib ended, to dinner time. And now it had all paid off.

"Good, then you can do the rest of the problems on your own."

"Okay, but you'll check them once I'm done, right?"

Haruhi laughed, "Of course."

The next few minutes were silent, except for the scratch of pencil on paper and the clink of teacups.

Unnoticed by Lorena, Haruhi would occasionally glance up at her, pondering on whether or not she should voice her thoughts.

Eventually, curiosity won out and Haruhi just couldn't keep it to herself anymore, "There's something else."

"Something else to what?" Lorena questioned, not even looking up from her paper.

"Your story. I know it was hard for you to even give me the rough summary that you did, but I can't shake the feeling that you left something out. Something important." Lorena slowly looked up at her, saying nothing, hiding her surprise that Haruhi could be that perceptive. "Please tell me." She took a hold if her hand, looking her straight in the eye. "You can't keep this kind of stuff to yourself. It will _tear you apart_."

She took a deep breath, "You're right." And so, she began her story.

* * *

"Alright girls, I just need to grab something in this store, you two can go ahead. You have your phones, right?"

"Yeah, we got 'em, Theresa."

Theresa smiled at them, "Alright, go have fun you two. We'll meet up in the foodcourt for some soft pretzels, sound good?"

"Yes!" They cheered.

"Okay, be safe."

They went their separate ways.

"Jenna, do you think we'll find anything good?"

"We can hope. I want to see if I can find some new paints, I'm running out of red." She smiled at her twin, taking hold of her hand as they walked into the store. "How long do you think we have?"

"The foodcourt is right there, so if we take too long, Theresa can come in and wait for us." Lorena smirked at her, "So we have all the time in the world."

They looked through racks of clothes and found nothing. Getting towards the back of the store, they came upon the jewelry section. Jenna picked something up, "Look at this necklace." She showed it to her sister, "It's angel wings." She thought for a second, "I'm gonna get it, do you want one?"

Lorena shook her head, "Nah, not really my thing. But it'll look good on you."

Their browsing was cut short, "Lorena, Jenna, where are you?"

"Here!" They chorused, flagging their stepmother down.

"Ready to go?"

"Yep. Let's go check out, LoLo." Jenna once again took her twin's hand and led her to the cashier.

While Jenna was babbling about art as they were waiting in line, Lorena's gaze shifted to the foodcourt. Looking out the glass, she watched people mill about, talk to each other, eat their food, run away screaming. Wait a minute...

Panicking, Lorena gripped her sister's arm, pulling her towards her, but she could do no more than that before shots rang out and screams intensified and glass broke.

Almost as if in slow motion, Lorena stood there as glass sprayed towards her, and she felt an incredible pain in her ribs. At the same time, Jenna slumped in her arms.

When they hit the ground, the only thing Lorena could see was blood. Jenna's blood. Everywhere.

Finally realizing what she was looking at, she saw that she had been shot in the chest twice.

In that moment, her own injury was meaningless. Inconsequential. The only thing of concern was Jenna.

Pulling herself up, she pressed down hard on Jenna's chest, trying to stop the bleeding. "It's okay. You're gonna be okay. You're strong. You always have been. This is nothing. You got this." Lorena wasn't sure if she was whispering, screaming, or anything inbetween. Everything was a blur, the only thing that existed was red. The color red, and the sickening heat that it brought.

Her attention was snapped when she felt a soft hand on her wrist, looking up at her twin, she felt the tears finally fall. Jenna gasped for breath, coughing up blood when she did, "I'm sorry...LoLo... I can't... I am strong... _No more._"

"Don't you say that." Lorena sobbed.

Tears poured from Jenna's eyes, "LoLo... I'm scared." She took one last shuddering gasp, before she went limp, her eyes glazing over, and her breath left her.

"No..." The breathy whisper slipped past her lips, "No... No no no..." She repeated this word until it no longer sounded like a word anymore, cradling her twin's body. Out of the cormer of her eye, she faintly registered Theresa laying on the ground, staring with wide eyes at them. She seemed to be unharmed physically.

Next thing she knew, she was flat on her back, in even more pain than she was before. She could feel blood pouring out of a wound that seemed to cross her whole torso, how this happened she wasn't sure, just that it made the black in her vision advance rapidly.

With the last remnants of her energy, she gripped Jenna's hand, and closed her eyes. Her injuries overcame her, and she died, happy that she wouldn't have to live one more minute without her other half.

* * *

Pain. And light. And voices. These were the first things Lorena experienced as she was ripped back into the land of the living.

"Her vitals are stabilizing, and she's conscious. What about the other one?" The paramedic over her looked to her partner. He shook his head. "Damn it." She began putting her defibrillator up.

Lorena managed to move her head so she could look at Jenna. Someone had closed her eyes, making her look like she was just sleeping peacefully. Their hands had been separated.

She turned her head to face the paramedic who was talking to her, she interrupted her, "Kill me." Her voice was raspy, as tears streamed out of her eyes. The paramedic's face fell, shock taking over. "Please."

Then, to her suprise, tears fell from the paramedic's eyes. "I'm sorry we couldn't bring her back too." The paramedic looked at Jenna, then back to Lorena. "She's your twin." She realized.

They stared at each other for a beat before two other paramedics came running up with a stretcher. Time stretched on and on as Lorena was moved onto the stretcher and moved away. Her eyes never leaving Jenna's form, which was being covered by a white sheet.

The only things that was running through her head were memories.

She remembered how when Jenna would laugh so hard she would snort, and then get so embarrassed that she would hide her face in her hands.

She remembered the first time Jenna tried to bake cupcakes. The first batch were burned to black ashes because she had fallen asleep while waiting. The second batch were raw in the middle because she was afraid of the same thing happening again.

She remembered Jenna trying to teach her how to paint, ending in a paint war between the two of them, and them accidentally getting their dad in the face with a glob of orange paint. He just laughed and joined them.

She remembered the little puppy they adopted together. They named him Creature. He had been rescued from a dog fighting ring.

She remembered crying with her in their room when their grandmother died. Comforting each other with ice cream and video games.

She remembered so many things, and yet it wasn't enough. She didn't care if it was selfish. She wanted her back. She wanted the real thing.

She was so absorbed in her memories that she didn't notice the paramedic woman from before pushing something into her hand. A necklace. Two angel wings on a chain dangling from her fist.

* * *

_Riiing!_

Lorena stood from her desk with her phone in one hand, and her bag in the other. The school day had just ended, and the Host Club would be starting in half an hour.

As soon as she left her classroom with Kyoya and Tamaki, her arm was grabbed by two little hands. A new set of footsteps also joined them, _That could only be Takashi._

"Rena-chan~!" Honey smiled up at her as he dragged her to the club room. "We get to dress up for our theme today! Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Paying more attention to the buzzing phone in her hand than him, she hummed absentmindedly in response.

Annoyed, Honey stopped suddenly, almost making her trip over him. "I'm tired. Can you carry me?"

"Sure." She didn't look from her phone as she picked him up.

"Who are you texting?" He moved so he could see the screen of her phone.

"My friend, Mizuno Kenzo. He wants me to have dinner with him tonight."

"Like a date?" Honey asked her seemingly innocently.

She laughed loudly at the thought, "God, no. He's a good friend. He just needs me to translate for him for his extended family and business partners at this party they're hosting." Before he could ask, she answered, "He's mute. We both speak American Sign Language."

* * *

Lorena went around the room with a heavy tray in her hands, refilling people's cups of tea. This was only made harder by the fancy-though _incredibly _comfortable-kimono she was wearing, that reached down to her ankles.

It all had to do with the theme they had that day. A late Edo era cosplay, as specific characters in a story. Or was it history? To be honest, it all pretty much went over her head, but she got to dress up, so it was fine.

Having made her way around the whole room, the tray was now much lighter, and everyone had a full cup of tea.

Setting the tray down, she noticed that not _everyone _had a mug of tea. Pouring two cups, she stroleld over to Takashi, who was just sitting peacefully on a bench to the side as some girls drooled over him.

"Tea?" She held the mug in front of his face. He accepted it with a small smile. Sitting next to him on the bench, she sipped her own tea as well. "What's with the spear?"

Before he could answer, he suddenly stood up and _stabbed the wall, _shocking everyone.

"Mori-senpai!"

"Why the sudden lunge?!"

"Are you not getting enough attention?!"

"Please calm down, Mori-senpai! I know you're upset that you only have one line an episode! We're three-fourths through the season and you haven't had your own episode, is that it?! I'M SORRY!"

"What are you talking about, Tamaki?" Lorena squinted at him as she set down both Takashi's and her tea cups.

"No." He pulled the spear out of the sliding door. He opened the door, revealing a mean-looking red-head on the floor. "We have a trespasser."

The red-head suddenly jumped up and rushed at Takashi, "TAKASHI MORINOZUKA!"

"A surprise attack?!"

He threw himself to the ground, "Senpai! Please, take me on as your apprentice."

Takashi looked surprised. Well, as much as Takashi could, anyways. Slowly, Lorena took the spear away from him, "I'm just gonna hide this somewhere safe before you decide to stab any more walls."

* * *

"Ritsu Kasanoda. First year, class D. Heir to the third-generation head of the Kasanoda Syndicate, the most powerful gang in the Kanto area. He was admitted this year into Ouran Academy's high school. He has long red hair, a mean looking appearance, is reserved and has few friends. It is said if your eyes meet his you'll have bad dreams for three months; if you bump into him you'll end up in the hospital; and talking back to him sends you to an early grave. He is so feared by his classmates that they call him 'The Walking Blizzard'."

"Well, that's just ridiculous." Lorena set a cup of tea in front of Kasanoda before going back to sit at the table with Honey and Takashi to eat some cake.

Tamaki ignored her comment, "Seriously? But why would a human weapon like yourself want to be Mori-senpai's apprentice?"

Kasanoda sighed, "Well, because, look I may be tough, but I'm not a human weapon." Tamaki nodded at him. "I was just born with a face that makes me look mean all the time."

"Well, at least you're aware of it, Casanova." The twins chorused.

"It's Kasanoda."

"Bossa Nova?"

"I SAID IT WAS KASANODA, DO YOU WANNA DIE?!"

"Man, he really is mean looking..." The idiot trio mumbled from behind the couch.

"Uh, sorry about that. This always happens because of the way I look. I've always had this mean look. Ever since I was born. Even when I was just a tyke my dad would say, 'Just you wait, my son's gonna be the greatest gangster of all time.'"

Lorena found it amusing to imagine a baby Kasanoda crawling around, and dozens of servants around him chanting, "Young Lord, you gonna rumble?!"

"And so, ever since I was a kid, I've been taught how to be the godfather of a gang." He sighed again, "My pops was a good teacher, he made me a true gangster. That's great and all, but everyone's afraid to come near me. Even my fellas are scared of me. So, I'm all alone. It's like, they forget I'm young, and sometimes I just wanna play. I wanna get out with my fellas and play a game of Kick-the-Can."

"A good game of Kick-the-Can is awesome." Tamaki mused.

"But I've been living the life of a gangster, and I don't know how to interact with regular people."

"Aww, that poor guy..." Honey looked sad for him.

"Morinozuka-senpai, that's why I need you to show me. How do you manage to have so many friends?" Takashi turned his head slightly so he could see Kasanoda. "When you're just as mean looking as me?" Lorena nealry choked on her tea when she saw the shock on Takashi's face. "You're expressionless, distant, and you hardly ever talk. Plus, you've got a mug that looks like a watchdog from Hell. So, how come you got so many friends? What're you doin' that I'm not? PLEASE, TEACH ME YOUR SECRETS! I'M BEGGING YOU!" Lorena couldn't handle it, she had to turn all the way around in her chair to not laugh at Takashi.

Once again he threw himself to the ground. Meanwhile, Takashi looked dead inside.

"Hey Takashi, are you okay?" Honey asked him worriedly.

"I'm just a little light-headed."

"What now boss? Don't you think we should do something about this?"

"Just leave him alone. Don't get involved. Like he said, he wants to be Mori-senpai's apprentice. So that means, Mori-senpai decides what to do. This isn't something that any of us should interfere with."

"Tamaki." Lorena looked over her shoulder to see what he would say next. Except he didn't say anything. Not verbally anyway. However, his face said "Kill me now." Or maybe it was "Help"? Close enough.

"Well, in that case, since you insist, Mori-senpai. I, Tamaki Suoh, promise you I will do whatever I can to assist you." He sparkled with pride and his usual flamboyance.

"Yeah right, he wanted to get involved so badly he couldn't bear it." Haruhi muttered.

"Now lift your head Bossa Nova."

"Listen, it's Kasanoda."

"From now on, you may address me as 'King'. Okay, Bossa Nova?"

"That's not my name."

"Are you listening to me Bossa Nova?!"

"Yes!"

"There are many differences between you and our beloved Mori-senpai, but there is also one very definitive thing you are lacking. And that is, a lovely item."

"A lovely...item?"

"Bossa Nova, I would like to introduce you to a lovely item named Mitsukuni. Sure, Mori-senpai may seem kind of mean-looking, and he may seem kind of distant when you first meet him. But what if you put Mitsukuni on his shoulders? Suddenly it's like he's a forest teddy bear that all the animals adore! In addition, this lovely item also plays up Mori-senpai's strong and silent character. Even without saying anything, just by placing Honey-senpai next to him, people begin to have a new-found admiration for Mori-senpai. Suddenly he's seen in a positive light as a nice, quiet young gentleman. That's the plan!I'm not exaggerating when I say that most of Mori-senpai's charm is directly related to his friend Honey-senpai!"

"Yeah! You're right!" The twins agreed.

"Now that you mention it, Mori-senpai..."

"Doesn't really do anything."

"Yeah, his positions totally a bust." Kaoru drove the last nail in.

Takashi looked so betrayed. Honey looked to Lorena and winked at her before turning on the crocodile tears, "Takashi... Have you really been using me this entire time?" He stood up alarmed, shaking his head.

Tamaki continued talking to Kasanoda, "I'm sorry, but Honey-senpai is on a long-term lease to Mori-senpai right now, so I can't let you borrow him."

"Is Tama-chan telling the truth?! ARE YOU RENTING ME?!" Takashi's jaw dropped and he shook his head wildly, nearly giving himself whiplash.

"Don't worry, I'll come up with something to take his place. So the next thing we need to discuss, is your disturbing yankee fashion sense." He snapped, getting the twins's attention, "Now Hitachiin brothers-"

"Sir!"

"It's your job to make this man more fashionable."

"Roger!" They launched themselves at poor Kasanoda and dragged him off to the dressing room.

Deciding that that was enough teasing for the gentle giant, Lorena patted Takashi's head comfortingly. "There, there. Don't listen to those meanies. They're just teasing you."

A few minutes later, when the twins came out with Kasanoda, it was Lorena's turn to look dead inside. And it was Takashi's turn to pat her head comfortingly.

* * *

"Kasanoda?" Lorena came up beside him as he was walking back home.

"Uhh, yes?"

"Do you mind if I walk with you? My house happens to be this way as well."

"O-of course." His blushing face could not be hidden by the silly green and yellow scarf he was wearing.

"I'm Lorena Boone, by the way. I just realized we hadn't been properly introduced." She shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Boone."

"Please, call me Lorena."

"Okay." He was quiet, and shy, but Lorena just couldn't let him walk around looking so silly any longer.

"I'm sorry, Kasanoda. I just can't take you seriously dressed like that. The twins like to mess around with everyone." He blushed in embarrassment even more. "Here, let me fix your hair." She made him stop walking as she undid his dreadlocks, and he took off the scarf, sunglasses, and band-aid. "I'll take the bear, I can return it to Tamaki in class tomorrow." She tucked it under her arm that she was carrying her bag with.

He smiled at her appreciatively and they comtinued walking. The rest of the time, they walked in silence. She didn't want to push him into a conversation as he would feel uncomfortable, and he definitely didn't mind the silence.

They reached the Kasanoda Syndicate first. "Uhm... Thanks for...you know..."

"No problem." She laughed. "Thanks for letting me walk with you."

"Let me, uh, walk you home."

"No, it's fine, I live just a few more blocks away anyways. But thank you." He nodded. "See you at school tomorrow." She waved goodbye and kept walking, politely waving at another young man with long brown hair who was holding a broom.

When she had turned the corner, Kasanoda entered his estate, trying to ignore Tetsuya's burning stare. After all, he had never walked home with a girl before. Especially a girl who wasn't afraid of him.

* * *

"Huh? Somebody's out to get Mori-senpai?"

"No doubt about it. I was there, I saw _everything. _He's obviously gotten on somebody's bad side!" Kasanoda explained to them.

Lorena turned around from her perch on the arm of the couch, "Starting fights again, Takashi? We talked about this, only two fights a month." She teased. Takashi just rolled his eyes at her.

"Nah, that's impossible-" Hikaru started.

"There's no way Mori-senpai would ever be on someone's bad side." Kaoru finished as Tamaki nodded his head in agreement.

"How can you be so sure? You don't know that."

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that. Operation 'Bossa Nova's Total Image Makeover' is in full effect as of right now!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Hold on! What the hell're you talking about? What do you mean you're startin right now?! You tryna pretend that yesterday never happened? Thanks to yesterday's 'makeover' people were even more afraid of me than they usually are."

Tamaki explained calmly, "Hold on a second, let me explain, Bossa Nova. We all support you, and we're behind you 100%. Yesterday, the twins were just getting a little carried away. I hope you'll forgive them."

Kasanoda was touched, "I'm sorry. I will follow your lead from here on out."

Everyone except Haruhi and Kasanoda moved over to the whiteboard to discuss the plan and possible solutions.

A minute or so later, they had come up with something. "Bossa Nova!" Tamaki called to him.

"Yes?"

"I think we've finally come up with something that'll change your tough guy image." Lorena had a bad feeling about this.

Everyone's face was blank as they stared at Kasanoda. Black kitty ears resting on his head.

"A cat monster." Honey finally voiced.

"Well that didn't work. I don't know what went wrong, Renge said that kitty ears were all the rage. She said that they were a perfect lovely item. What could've happened?"

Kyoya was fed up with him, "Be realistic, putting kitty ears on him isn't going to affect how people percieve him. He still looks mean."

"Yeah," the twins said simultaneously, "If you're going to take it _that _far... You might as well go all the way and make him a kitty-eared maid!"

"Are you guys makin fun of me?"

"Sorry to bother you, but is the Young Lord Kasanoda in here?" Tetsuya walked in only to see Kasanoda dressed as a kitty-eared maid.

"AAHHH!" He yelled, grabbing the front of his jacket.

"Sir, it's no big deal, you can do whatever you want in your spare time..."

"WHAT, DO YOU THINK THIS IS A HOBBY OF MINE?! DAMMIT, I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" He ran out, Tetsuya running after him.

Haruhi picked up the cat ears he had thrown on the ground, "Maybe an image change isn't really what Casanova needs..."

"I think you're right." Honey kneeled down next to her. "I sure hope he realizes it soon."

* * *

Lorena hid behind a tree as she watched Haruhi and Kasanoda talk. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was obvious that Kasanoda was developing a crush on Haruhi.

"Look out!" Honey jumped up out of nowhere and kicked the flying paint can. Unfortunately, this made the lod pop off and a bunch of red paint to hit Haruhi.

"AHH! HARUHI, WHAT HAPPENED?! THAT'S NOT BLOOD, IS IT?!" Tamaki freaked out.

"Would you calm down," she stood up, "it's just a little paint."

"Hey, are you sure you're alright, Fujioka?" Kasanoda also stood up.

Lorena came out from her hidind spot to check on her friend. Indeed it was judt paint, most of it was on her jacket, though some got on her shirt and tie as well.

"Let go of me you bastard!" An unfamiliar voice yelled out.

Another joined it, "Dammit, you big behemoth!"

"You're playin' dirty, Kasanoda! First you go and kidnap our gang boss's kid, and then you go and make us deal with your muscle-bound lackies?! We know that you kidnapped the kid! Just give him back!"

The twins popped up with rope, "We've heard enough out of you. We'll shut you up!" They began tying the two strangers tightly with the rope.

"What the hell is going on here?" Poor Kasanoda looked so lost.

Honey was the one to explain, "Don't you get it? Takashi wasn't on anyone's bad side, these guys were after you. Until we caught them, we decided not to say anything to you, because we didn't want you to have to mess with them."

Shocked, Kasanoda approached Honey and Takashi. "I can't believe it. So you helped me? But how come?"

Takashi patted Kasanoda's head, "We can tell who the bad guys are by lookin' at 'em."

"I should probably go back and change clothes." Haruhi said to herself.

"Want us to come and help you?"

"Drop dead."

"I'll come, though. I know a trick to get stains out. But it only works if you do it fast enough." They walked back together, passing an angry looking Tetsuya as they did.

* * *

Lorena stood at the running sink with Haruhi's jacket, shirt, and tie, trying to get the paint out. When she was finished, she hung them up to dry and went back into the room that Haruhi was in.

However, when she walked in, she immediately froze.

Kasanoda, red-faced and shocked, stood there frozen. "M-MA!" He yelled, before hurriedly leaving and slamming the door closed.

"Oh Lord..." Lorena face-palmed. This wouldn't be good.

* * *

**A/N: Soooo? Opinions? Questions? Constructive criticism? Death threats? Uhh, scratch that last one. I eagerly await your responses. **

**IMPORTANT: As of right now, I am putting this fic under construction. This basically means that I will be editing the first dozen (give or take) chapters, general improvements really, no major changes. I'm not sure if you guys will get alerts for chapter re-uploads, if someone knows please tell me. This may also mean that I will have more outfits on my Polyvore for Lorena (I don't know if a lot of you even bother to look at those but whatever). Now that I've figured it out, the whole thing should be much easier for both me, and you guys. **

**IMPORTANT #2 (not related to the first one): Are you guys gonna want an epilogue after the end of the last episode? It would be some undefined number of years in the future about (SPOILER ALERT****) Mori and Lorena's married life.**

**That's all. See you guys next chapter! **


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: Hello again! Soo a few big things have happened recently that both excite and terrify me: 1.) I got my permit 2.) I went to my first interview-which I think went pretty well and 3.) school started again. That pretty much sums up my life the last month or so... Special thanks go to rosemcgee13, VioletRose16, Just2aw3s0me, HalicanDrops, beautifulkittycats2, NerdyNavi, and kittkattt for following and faving!**

**lek99: Alrighty then!**

**BizzyLizy: You got it!**

**Elvea Theb: There's more Kasanoda in this chapter too!**

**GoldenLombaxGirl: Well, you're not wrong...**

**Darkelfangel13: Aww thank you!**

**xxyangxx2006: *whispers to myself* yess made someone cry *clears throat* I mean, sorry for the feels.**

**YuYuHakushoObsessor: You shall have it! **

* * *

**Previously:**

_Kasanoda, red-faced and shocked, stood there frozen. "M-MA!" He yelled, before hurriedly leaving and slamming the door closed._

_"Oh Lord..." Lorena face-palmed. This wouldn't be good._

**And now:**

Lorena sighed. "Well, looks like the cat's out of the bag." She walked over to Haruhi and began tying the tie so she could just slip it on and tighten it.

Haruhi looked up at her from buttoning up her shirt, "It wasn't his fault, it was an accident."

They heard yelling from the main room. "I better go make sure they don't kill him." Lorena laughed. Jogging over, she cracked the door open cautiously to see the twins and Honey cornering him against the other door.

"Red alert. He's on to Haruhi's little secret."

"That's not good."

Tamaki gasped audibly from his position in the middle of the room.

"Don't be so mean, guys. It was an accident and you know it." Lorena chided them.

"No!" The twins argued, "This is serious business!"

They went back to interrogating Kasanoda. "So, let's hear it."

"How much of her maidenly skin did you actually see?"

Kasanoda looked at his feet, ashamed. "Well, she was changing so, I saw her underwear..."

"YOU SAW HARUHI'S UNDERWEAR?!"

Lorena face palmed for the second time that day.

"There's only one thing to do, we have to induce amnesia!" Kaoru held him while Hikaru prepared to swing a baseball bat at Kasanoda's head.

Lorena jumped into the fray, grabbing the bat from a surprised Hikaru. "Are you two clinically insane?! You'll kill him before anything else!"

"That's enough you two." Kyoya held his hand up to stop them. "Leave assault and battery to the professionals." Lorena visibly deflated.

"What are you, made of ice? How can you be so calm? Look, the boss is so deep in shock he's regressing!"

"Well, now that it appears the proverbial cat is out of the bag..." He pushed his glasses up, "Let's talk." Kasanoda looked even more concerned than before. "Haruhi is compelled to hide the fact that she is a girl by certain...midi gating circumstances. While we can't physically force you to cooperate, there is something I would like for you to bear in mind. Coming from the sort of family you do, I'm sure you hear all sorts of juicy little rumors. Enough to know what is true and what is not. Take the Ootori family's private police force for example-the Black Onion Squad. It is said they can be mobilized against our enemies in the blink of an eye." He smiled at him with an obviously fake cheerfulness, "You have heard of them, right?"

_Threats? Really, Kyoya?_

Haruhi opened the door, "Come on guys, stop scaring Casanova." She looked to him, "Sorry about all this."

"Hey... Fujioka."

"Look, it's alright. It doesn't really matter to me, you can tell whoever you want to." She smiled up at him.

"Well well, Bossa Nova, since you know she's a girl, are you in love?"

Once again, Lorena smacked her forehead, "Really, guys? You think just by knowing someone's gender you'll fall in love with them?" She received no answer. Shrugging, she dropped the bat. "Well, that's enough shenanigans for one day. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

* * *

Lorena was chatting with her two guests when something happened to cause a wave of not-so-quiet-whispers to cross the room.

"What's going on?" One of the girls with her, a red-head named Misa asked her. The other girl Lorena was not familiar with, it was their first meeting.

"I don't know." Lorena responded, "But I'll go find out. I have to get us some more tea anyways." She excused herself and took the tea tray, making her way to the back-room by way of the focal point of the commotion.

It turned out, that all of the whispering was caused by Kasanoda requesting Haruhi. Lorena caught his eye as she passed them, and subtly gave him a thumbs-up.

When she came back out of the back room with a full tea pot, she made sure to once again pass by Haruhi's couch. They looked fine, but she did spy two angry twins and one still-dead-inside Tamaki.

Things began calming down after that, well, after everyone was done crying over Kasanoda and promising to be his friend.

Lorena was listening to the girl whose name she didn't know talk about her parents when she noticed that Misa had been silent for a while. "Is something wrong, Misa?"

She blushed and looked down at her fidgeting hands, "W-Well, there's...something that I want to...say to you."

Lorena leaned across the table and grabbed her hands comfortingly, "You can tell me anything, Misa. You know I can keep secrets if you want. You can trust me."

"I do! It's just..."

"Do you want to go somewhere else? Where there aren't so many people?"

"N-No, it's just... I'm... I'm..." The other girl touched her back encouragingly. "I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU, LORENA!"

It took her a few seconds to recover from being yelled a confession of love, but when she did, she noticed that all eyes and ears were on them. The room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop.

Lorena lifted the girl's head, "I'm very flattered, Misa. But I'm afraid that I'm just not ready for a relationship right now. It wouldn't be fair to you _or_ me if I ignored that." Tears welled up in Misa's eyes as she looked down once more. "However..." She looked up again, "if you still feel the same way when that day comes, I promise you'll be the _first_ to know."

Accepting this, Misa smiled at her with hope still intact, "Okay!"

* * *

"Starlight kick!"

Giggles filled the air as Lorena ran to go hide, being tugged along by Takashi and Honey. They went around the rose maze instead of through it, and climbed up a tree.

Not ten feet away, the rest of the Hosts were hiding under a table in the gazebo.

"So, Hika-chan may seem oblivious, but deep down he's beginning to understand his feelings? And even though it's clear to the rest of us how Tama-chan feels, he's still completely oblivious to his own feelings?"

"Yeah."

"And what about Kao-chan and Kyo-chan? Between the two of them I bet there's someone even more oblivious then Tama-chan is. Considering that, I wonder if something really big is gonna happen before we graduate."

"You never know."

Lorena adjusted her perch on her tree branch so she was better balanced. "Wow. Nothing gets by you guys, huh?"

Honey giggled, "Nope!"

"I'll keep that in mind..." She mumbled.

From below, they could hear the others bickering among themselves. "Well for starters, why even kick the can?" Kyoya asked as he nudged Hikaru away from him. With all of them packed under that little table, Lorena couldn't blame him.

"Hey! Stop pushing so hard!"

"Get your hands off my Haruhi!"

"She doesn't belong to you!"

"Oh yeah? If not me, then who?"

"I DO NOT BELONG TO ANYBODY!" She sighed, "Where's Rena when you need her?"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it was so short, but there wasn't much to this chapter anyways.. Feel free to leave your opinions! **


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: That's right, your favorite author is back! Just kidding I'm trash. Anyways, I got a job, school sucks, and my family's crazy! Yaaay!**

**Special thanks go to BizzyLizy, Reaperdeath, camsam17, OneDirectionLover18, Stormsong of ThunderClan, kyoya'sgirl2, imnoone7.5, AliceEverette, MaidenZorriah, Gembomz, Hershey gurl, Ashneal, Triple T 123, and je suis la fille en feu for following and faving!**

**BizzyLizy: Congrats on your new computer! And thank you!**

**GoldenLombaxGirl: I'm assuming you're talking about the Hosts that crowded under the one table, I just used what actually happened in the episode, I'm too lazy to make my own version lol.**

**YuYuHakushoObsesser: Thank you very much, and I'm sorry it took so long to get this one out! And my interview got me the job that I have now (less time to write boooo) and my school year is going really well actually. I hope you're having a good year too (idk if you're in school? Have a job? Idk)**

**Anyways, sorry it took so long to update, but hey, getting closer to the end! Just one more chapter and then the epilogue (both a happy and sad thing). And then of course I'm still rewriting some chapters as well...**

* * *

"Are you sure I can't just, sit this one out?"

"Positive. It is required not only by myself, but by the school as well for you to attend and particupate in the Ouran Fair." Kyoya didn't even have to look up from his notebook to know that Rena was making a face at him.

It was the morning before the fair, and all classes had been cancelled for the day so that the students could set up their stations.

Working men and women bustled about carrying furniture and supplies as the students told them where to go and what to do. It was a sort of organized chaos.

The whole Host Club had to be present for this so that they could get everything set up in time. They had managed to get the Main Salon in the central building, the best-and most expensive-spot on the whole Ouran campus.

"Well, what if I suddenly fall ill with a mysterious plague and have to be quarantined on a remote island? Can I not come then?"

"If such a thing were to happen, we would all simply wear hazmat suits." Kyoya poked her forehead with the end of his pen, "Now stop bothering me and do something productive."

Lorena stuck her tongue out at him, "You're no fun."

"I am painfully aware." Kyoya went back to writing in his notebook, ending the conversation.

"Stop trying to get out of it, Rena. If I have to, I will drag you kicking and screaming into the fair."

"Haruhi, you wound me." Lorena clutched her chest dramatically and fell into Haruhi's arms, "Betrayed, by my own flesh and blood." She pretended to faint.

"Ugh, you've been around Tamaki-sempai for too long." Haruhi had the urge to drop her friend, but decided not to.

She was going to see what everyone else was doing when a horse and carriage pulled up next to her. In the carriage was Tamaki, the twins, Honey, and Takashi.

"Nicely done. You handled the reins like a pro." Takashi complimented Kaoru.

"Haru-chan! Rena-chan!" Honey waved to them. "Come aboard!"

Next thing she knew, Lorena was sitting next to Hikaru with Honey in her lap and across from Kyoya, Haruhi, and Tamaki.

"Hey, you know you've gotten pretty good at this."

"There's nothing to it. You should've practiced with me earlier."

"Well, just because we're twins doesn't make both of us good drivers."

"Ain't that the truth." Lorena laughed.

"It's kinda neat having us all together like this for a carriage ride, huh?" Honey played with Lorena's hands that were holding him.

"Yeah, whatever." Haruhi deadpanned.

"It's not like we're not spending most of our time together already." Lorena mumbled.

"Oh, and for the actual parade tomorrow, we'll all be in 18th century French costumes. Yours and Rena's outfits will be especially flashy, Haruhi."

"Hooray..."

* * *

The day of the fair came way too soon and no body could say they were bored.

The Host Club was booming. All the regular guests were there, and their parents, their siblings, their friends... Pretty much everyone and their brother came to the Host Club, okay?

At the monent, Lorena was wearing an ankle-length dress that was white from her waist up, and dark gray from her waist down. The dress had to be gray and white to match the outfits that the rest of the Hosts were wearing, a dark gray button-up, a white vest, red ties, and dark gray dress pants.

For two days they would be open to the general public of Ouran. They all had to be at the top of their game.

As Lorena made her way around the room, talking to a dizzying amount of people, she quickly learned all of the other Hosts' tactics. Tamaki had his normal "flirt-until-she-swoons" plan. Takashi would do little things for Honey, like tie his shoe or "fix his buttons," and Honey would cling to him even more than before. The twins pulled out the sympathy card _very _often. Kyoya mostly talked politically. And Haruhi... Well, Haruhi was just herself.

As for Lorena, well, she used logic against the parents_. _

_"Oh, I assure you ma'am, your daughter attending the Host Club will not interfere with her studies in any way. In fact, a main role that I have in the Host Club is to tutor and help students with their homework and class work."_

_"In the Host Club, everyone talks to each other. We encourage interaction and trust-building. I myself have made many friends and met many wonderful people because of the Host Club."_

"Father!" Tamaki's voice stole Lorena's attention away from the girl in front of her to the front of the Salon.

"Do not refer to me as 'Father'. The term is far too familiar. You will address me properly as 'Chairman'."

"Wow, savage." Lorena said to herself before turning back to her guest.

She had just bid the girl goodbye when a loud slap echoed throughout the room. Lorena's head shot up and she gasped. Kyoya's glasses clattered to the ground.

"That's Kyo-chan's father, isn't it?"

"Yeah, Honey. He is." Lorena placed a hand on his shoulder.

Kyoya's father left, and the Hosts approached Kyoya.

"Kyoya, are you all right?"

"Your dad was mean."

"You should never ever hit someone who's wearing glasses!"

"I don't think it's really about that, Honey-sempai."

"Kyoya-sempai, he wasn't angry at you because of the Host Club, was he?"

"Don't worry about it." Kyoya brushed them all off as he walked away, "It's not like I haven't been expecting this."

"Regardless of any of that, you're not ignoring us. Come here!" Lorena stomped over to him and dragged him by the ear out of the room and to the closest bathroom.

"Would you please let go of my ear?" She did, and he stood up, rubbing his ear sourly. "I do not understand why you're upset with me."

"I'm not upset with you, I'm upset with your father." She examined his cheek. "It won't bruise, but it's still kind of red." She began soaking a washcloth in cold water, "I really hate him, you know?" She glanced up at him, "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"It's quite alright. Many would agree with you."

"And you?" She gave him the cold cloth to hold to his cheek, "Do you hate him?"

He stared at her, "I don't know."

* * *

Lorena was setting out some tea at her table when suddenly she went blind. "Hey!" Removing the hands from her face, she turned around to see a smiling Mizuno. "Oh my god, Mizuno! What are you doing here?"

_My sister told me that Ouran was having a fair today, and I decided to come see you. Why didn't you invite me?_

"I'm sorry, I guess I just assumed you would have better things to do then come see me at school."

He smacked her over the head, _Idiot. _

"Owww, meanie."

Someone tugged on the end of her dress, "Rena-chan, who is this?" Honey clutched her leg as he peered up at Mizuno, trying to decide if he was friend or foe.

"This is Mizuno Kenzo, my friend. He's mute, but we can both speak American Sign Language." Mizuno waved.

"It's nice to meet you, Mizuno." Haruhi shook his hand, followed by Kyoya, then the twins, then Takashi and Honey.

"Alright enough spectating, we have guests waiting for us."

"Kyoya, would ya loosen up every once and a while?" He simply ignored her and walked away.

* * *

"So, Tamaki is escorting this Eclair chick for the rest of the fair?" Lorena sat at a table across from Honey.

"Apparently." The twins answered her. "But who is she? That's the question."

"I can tell you." Everyone turned to see Renge, "Éclair Tonnerre, she's the youngest daughter of the renowned Tonnerre family. They descend from royalty."

Kyoya, without stopping his typing on his laptop, interjected, "Indeed, the family has quite a history. Their wealth is something of a legend among financial heavyweights. In fact, just being associated with them makes you part of a very elite group." He paused, "They also own Grand Tonnerre, a firm that's been buying up a lot of businessess in Japan lately. Of course, that doesn't explain why Lady Éclair has come to visit Tamaki."

Lorena looked to Haruhi, trying to gauge her reaction to all this, but her back was turned to them.

* * *

Lorena slipped into her red heels and carefully stood up. Tamaki had arranged three different outfits for everyone that they had to change into during the day.

Lorena-all dolled up once again-was about to see what was taking Haruhi so long, when she saw her coming down the hallway. "Haruhi, I was just about to come and get you."

Haruhi looked Lorena up and down, "You look very nice, Rena-chan."

"You clean up pretty well yourself." Lorena winked at her, "Can you help me with this clip? I don't have a mirror."

Haruhi smiled at her friend and took the hairclip with the black and red rose on it, putting it in Lorena's hair. She held out her arm, like a proper gentleman, "Shall we?"

"We shall." Lorena smirked and took her arm.

They walked back to the Salon in silence, Haruhi lost in thought, and Lorena concentrating on not stepping on her beautiful dress.

Arm in arm, Haruhi and Lorena entered the main salon, causing a rush of chatter and compliments to sweep the room.

"Haru-chan and Rena-chan look great!" Honey exclaimed, smiling at the two of them.

"Yeah, she does." Honey looked up at him and smiled, Takashi was off in La-La Land, staring at Lorena.

He couldn't help it, he'd fallen for her.

And it didn't help that her outfit was frickin' _gorgeous._ She was wearing a deep red ball gown, a white shawl draped over her arms that sat in the crook of her elbows, a hair clip that had a black and red rose on it, and he caught a glimpse of red heels under her dress.

The white shawl matched their white waistcoats, and the red of her dress matched their red ties.

He was going to go talk to her, but he was beaten to it by that Mizuno dude. He decided that now wasn't exactly the best time either, so he resolved to talk to her after the fair ended for the day.

* * *

After the fair had closed for the day, the rest of the Hosts were explaining to Haruhi and Lorena about Tamaki's childhood and family history.

They told them about how his father met his mother, and how he grew up in France with his mother, but had to come to Japan and never see her again so that she could live comfortably. Then she disappeared, never to be heard from since.

"It's easy to feel sorry for him," Kyoya stood up from his seat, "but the events of his childhood helped mold him into the person he is today. He'll be fine. And when everything is said and done, he still has us." Everyone took comfort in that fact.

The main doors suddenly opened, yellow sunlight spilling inside. Behind them, Tamaki and Eclair stood, "Everyone, I have an important announcement." He had all of their attention, "As of today, Lady Éclair Tonnerre and I are officially engaged. Furthermore, the Host Club will be permanently dissolved after the Ouran Fair. That is all." After dropping that bomb on them, Éclair dragged the somber Tamaki away.

* * *

"Oh, Haruhi you go on ahead, I left my other clothes in the room." Lorena made her way to Music Room #3 to get her clothes, the darkening sky outside just barely producing enough light for her.

Haruhi was going to sleep over at her house, the limo was waiting outside to take them there. She hurried through the room, not wanting them to have to wait for ever for her. She really could've left the clothes, but knowing her luck, she'd never see them again.

She gathered her clothes in a bag and paused, slipping her heels off her feet, she sighed, "Much better."

The door opened behind her, looking over her shoulder, she saw that it was Takashi. "Lorena," he greeted.

"Takashi."

"We should talk."

"What about?" She faced him, tilting her head. He just looked at her like _You know what. _She shrugged innocently at him and tried to make her way past him.

He grabbed her wrist, lightly so as not to hurt her, "You can't ignore me forever." She didn't look at him. "Won't you say something?"

She laughed, "Like what, Takashi? That I like you? A lot? And that I know you like me too? That nothing can ever come of it? Is that what you want me to say? Well there you go."

He turned her around to look at him, "Why do you say that?"

She sighed, "What I told Misa the other day, when she confessed to me... I wasn't lying. I'm not ready for a relationship quite yet. I'm too broken." His eyebrows scrunched together, _Broken?_ She licked her lips, "Right now, I'm not capable of caring for you the way you deserve to be cared for. It would be unfair for me and you."

His hand trailed from her wrist to her palm, intertwining their fingers, "I can fix you."

"I don't want you to fix me!" She pulled her hand away, nearly yelling at him but not quite. He was taken aback. She continued in a softer voice, "I want you sit with me while I fix myself." She looked at the ground, "I know it's selfish..."

He shook his head, "It is selfish." He grabbed her hand again, "But I want that too."

She looked up at him, a sparkle in her eye, "Really?" He nodded. She smiled up at him, a full, teeth showing, eyes-crinkled, happy smile.

* * *

**A/N: There you go! See, I'm not a complete heartless bitch all of the time, I can make my character happy. Anyways, feel free to tell me what you think, the next chapter should not take as long, I will begin working on it tomorrow. Till next time!**

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**lorenas_outfit_chapter_36/set?id=178083595**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: Special thanks go to Momochan77, RainbowUnicornStarChild, JokersBatman, aandm20, M.v.j.M, niyah606, Ariadne Falcon, Zombiesunshineyura, colorfulimagination123, SunnyGold, InstantWaterJustAddWater, KoreanMusicFan, angle fish, kage kitsune 14, blaze424, and Rsur Thorai for following and faving!**

**BizzyLizy: I'm sorry it took so long! And yeah, ends are bittersweet.**

**YuYuHakushoObsesser: I'm so sorry it took so long! Life got really crazy as it does and work and school just piles up lol.**

**Thing 1 (Guest): Haha thank you!**

* * *

"And you're telling me this just now?!"

"I only discovered it myself five minutes ago!" Lorena sighed exasperatedly. "Look, they just want to come and see you, see how you're doing."

"They don't want anything to do with me! They disowned me, remember?"

"Just because they disowned you doesn't mean that they don't want anything to do with you."

"That makes no sense! He's basically told me that I'm not his daughter anymore, we're strangers."

"No, you guys aren't strangers. Just because he disowned you doesn't mean that he doesn't have a right to know what's happening in your life."

"I'm having trouble keeping up with your thought process here."

Elena sighed on the other end of the phone, "Look, I told dad about your school's fair because I felt bad for you. You shouldn't have to be so alone. It was your choice to leave the family, after all."

Lorena's anger overwhelmed her, "I didn't need your pity then and I sure as hell don't need it now!"

"Don't you yell at me!"

Controlling her anger, she jabbed the red button on her phone and stuffed it back in her bag. She stopped and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"Is there something you'd like to share?"

Lorena looked to the doorway of the classroom, "I'm not in the mood, Kyoya."

"Nor am I." He walked towards her, sure steps filling the room, "That's why you should tell me now what's got you like this. We have enough to deal with already, I can't have any more surprises."

She sighed again, "Just my father and stepmother, they won't cause any trouble for you, just for me. They've decided to visit the Ouran Fair today." Kyoya hummed. "I'll take care of them, you focus on this whole Tamaki situation."

"Very well, I'm depending on you."

"Wow, how did those words taste?"

"Bitter."

* * *

"I can't understand you when you sign at me so fast, slow down."

I said, "Can you translate for me again? A business partner of my family's is hosting a party and it would make things a lot easier if you were there to be my voice."

Lorena sighed lightheartedly, "Of course." He hugged her happily. "What would you do without me?"

Probably just hire a translator.

She slapped his arm lightly, "Jerk."

Lorena positioned herself so that she could keep one eye on the front door and one eye on Haruhi, who had been requested by Éclair. It was strange, she was here but Tamaki was not.

Lorena couldn't help but hate the girl, her pompous posture and condescending speech. The way she tried to manipulate all of the Hosts into dancing to her twisted tune, it sickened her. But there wasn't anything she could do about her presence, she could only avoid her at all costs.

As Mizuno continued to sign something at her-presumably about the business partner she would be translating for-Lorena became lost in thought. She was trying to find some solution for this whole situation with Tamaki. We could always kill her. She shook her head, Nah, too much paperwork.

Lorena sighed tiredly, "Mizuno, as much as I love you, don't you have something better to do with your time?"

Nope. He grinned cheekily.

"Time to pick up a hobby, then." She pushed him towards the door, "Go do something productive, nothing's happening here."

What's wrong? She stopped, Something's been bothering you lately, why else would you be so eager to get rid of me?

She swallowed the truth and covered it up with a smile, "It's nothing important. Now go!" With a laugh she pushed him out the door, smile disappearing as soon as he was out of eye sight.

She turned from the door and began to cross the room to check in on the other hosts when she was stopped by a tentative voice, "LoLo?"

Turning around, she faced her smiling father and scowling stepmother.

"What are you doing here, Leo?" She crossed her arms.

Her father looked hurt, "Leo? Why are you so formal with me?"

"Does it really need explaining?"

"Yes!" Noticing the glances of other parents, he lowered his voice back to a normal level. "I hope you don't think that by signing our agreement that that means that I don't want anything to do with you anymore?"

Lorena crossed her arms, "Doesn't it?"

"Of course not!"

Lorena opened her mouth to respond but stopped herself, "Let's take this somewhere else, it's not appropriate to talk about this here. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other guests to attend to."

She turned to walk away but was blocked by Theresa, "That's no way to treat your parents. Show some respect." Her cold eyes looked down on her, challenging.

Lorena raised an eyebrow, "I shall show respect to my father and you when you earn it."

Theresa sneered at her, "How dare you-" She grabbed her arm harshly, perfectly manicured nails digging into her skin.

Lorena tensed, remembering all the nights she was afraid the insults, screaming, and emotional torture would turn into punches and kicks. Concealing her panic, she calmly pried Theresa's hand off of her arm, not saying a word until she was free. Theresa let her, too shocked at how emotionally detached she was to them to resist or retaliate. "Now, if you'll excuse me-"

Kyoya came up behind Lorena and pulled her to his side from in between the two adults. He smoothly took Theresa's hand and kissed her knuckles, greeting her. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting yet, I apologize. I am Kyoya Ootori, and you are?"

She regarded him analytically, "Theresa Darrow, this is my husband, Leo Darrow."

Kyoya faced Leo and shook his hand, "A pleasure to meet you, sir." He faced the both of them, "I must thank you for coming from so far just to visit the Host Club at our Ouran Fair. I apologize, but I need to steal Lorena away from you, I require her help in an important matter." He began to nudge her away from them, "Again, a pleasure meeting you both."

He kept one arm around Lorena's waist as they walked away, keeping her at his side. Behind them, Leo and Theresa also walked away to who-cares-where.

Lorena sighed when they disappeared behind the main doors, "Thank you, Kyoya. I owe you one."

"Indeed. I trust you can handle this situation from here?"

"Yes, I'll handle it after the fair ends. I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

As they walked towards the others they could see Éclair stand up from her seat across from Haruhi, leaving her looking rather depressed.

Their paths soon split, Kyoya went to talk to Haruhi, who hadn't left the table yet, and Lorena went to join Honey and Takashi, who were waving her over to come join them.

Lorena, Takashi, and Honey entertained their guests to the best of their abilities, making sure everyone was having fun and enjoying themselves.

While making sure everyone else was smiling and laughing, Lorena could not say that she was at all happy herself. She missed Tamaki, even his annoying antics and bad habit of calling her "his precious daughter."

While she always said he was annoying and too loud for her, she honestly liked his flamboyancy. She always felt loved around him, wanted.

Before moving to Japan, Lorena had not been subjected to much love at all, at least, not since Jenna's death. Jenna was still an open wound for Lorena, the pain still raw and fresh. Every day, she thought about her twin, how she could never meet these amazing people she called her friends, how she could never share the laughter, or the tears, or the anger. She could never again share anything with her twin, and knowing this crushed her.

But these people, these Hosts, they took away some of that pain, softened it. For while she smiled with her friends she did not forget Jenna, but remembered her. In Jenna's memory she would live, she would laugh, she would cry, she would scream…she would feel.

She would love.

Lorena knew that Jenna would want her to live, to make new memories, to go on crazy adventures so that when they found each other again…she would have stories to tell for the rest of eternity. An eternity together, with their new family.

* * *

Lorena fiddled with the frills on her dress for what must have been the tenth time in ten minutes, Hikaru once again slapping her hands away to fix what she had messed up.

The Hosts were all dressed up in 17th century French costumes for the parade they would be making around the Ouran campus to finish off the Ouran Fair. Kyoya was in purple, Hikaru in light blue, Kaoru in green, Honey in orange, Takashi in dark blue, Haruhi in pink, and finally Lorena in red. Obviously, Haruhi and Lorena were the only one's dressed as girls, their dresses the exact same except for color.

Kyoya sighed heavily and closed his phone, there was no answer to his calls.

"I can't believe Tamaki-sempai really didn't show up today." Haruhi muttered, sadness in her eyes.

Kyoya flipped his phone open again and began dialing another number. There was an answer. "Shima-san? It's been too long, this is Kyoya." He paused to let the other person speak, "That idiot. Tamaki is planning to leave for France."

"Tama-chan is leaving?!" Honey exclaimed.

"You've got to be kidding! We can't just let this end so suddenly!"

"Hikaru…"

Lorena placed her hand on Haruhi's shoulder, she knew how much Haruhi loved Tamaki.

Kyoya put the phone up to his ear again, "Yes?" A pause, "When is he leaving for France?" He stared hard out the window, "That soon?" They saw something red flash by the window, leaving the campus, "Tamaki?!" Everyone but Haruhi huddled around the window, watching the sports car exit the campus.

"The Ouran Fair isn't over yet!" Hikaru called out.

"My family's car should be in the parking lot!" Kyoya pushed them all towards the door, he called to Haruhi's motionless figure, "Let's go, Haruhi!"

* * *

They all ran to the Ootori's black limousine, Lorena had to slow down and take off her heels in order to catch up and run with them.

"We are in a hurry, head out at once." Kyoya ordered the driver. The driver sputtered. "What's wrong?"

"T-the thing is…" Dark figures emerged between cars, blocking all paths of escape. Protectively, Hikaru and Kaoru put their arms in front of Lorena and Haruhi, attempting to nudge them backwards to stand behind them.

"I see. What are your orders? Were you ordered to protect Lady Éclair?"

One of the secret police spoke up, "I am truly sorry that it has come to this, but we answer to your father."

Kyoya slammed his fist onto the car, denting the hood, "Damn it!"

"Damn, Kyoya, remind me to get you a self-help book…" Lorena's wit went unanswered.

"I'm terribly sorry," the policeman said, "but we cannot allow anyone to leave. Even if we must do so by force."

Just as they took a step forward to detain them, a horse and carriage came crashing through their ranks, policemen skittering away so as not to get hit.

Honey and Takashi jumped out of the carriage, "Take the carriage," Takashi told them, "if you take the back hills bypass you can cut them off."

"It's Haninozuka! And Morinozuka!" The policemen backed away in fright, remembering their last run in with Honey and Mori.

Hikaru and Kaoru jumped up into the carriage, Kyoya pushing Haruhi into it after them. "Rena-chan-" Kaoru held out his hand to her.

"No, I'll just slow you guys down. Go!" And with a whip of the reins, the horses took off at a full run, the policemen scattering once again out of their way.

"What are you doing?! Stop that carriage-" The policemen, presumably the leader, began to order only to be knocked out by Honey.

"Takashi," Honey started, "don't go easy on 'em!" He jumped into the crowd, ready to fight.

"I know." Was all Takashi had to say as he-rather comically-spun two policemen around and threw them.

Lorena tried to stay off to the side with Kyoya and let the other two take care of the rest. She chewed her lip and wrung her hands nervously, she was worried for her friends, Tamaki included.

It wasn't long until Honey and Takashi had taken care of all the policemen, leaving them stunned and/or unconscious in a huge pile. "I told you, picking on my friends was a no-no!" Honey scolded them.

Lorena cringed at Takashi cracking his neck over and over again, it was like she could feel her own neck bones shifting and grinding just because she heard him doing it.

"What do we do now?" Lorena asked no one in particular. She couldn't stand the thought of just sitting around and waiting, and yet there was no way they could catch up with Tamaki or the twins and Haruhi.

Kyoya once again went to the window of his family's car to talk to the driver, "So, what do you say, will you drive us now?"

The poor driver was so pale and shaking that he could barely hit the button to unlock the doors, but he managed to and they all piled in.

* * *

They all sat in the limo in a tense silence, they decided to head towards the airport the way the twins and Haruhi had gone, hoping they stopped him in time. It wasn't long until they stopped and picked up Hikaru and Kaoru, they told them about how Haruhi had gone on alone since Hikaru had been thrown from the carriage and broken his arm.

They were coming up to the bridge when they spotted two silhouettes falling. A gasp escaped Lorena's mouth before she could catch it, her hands flying to the ones next to her, one grasping Honey's, and the other Takashi's.

They practically burst out of the limo and ran to Haruhi and Tamaki, who were miraculously okay.

Honey was the first to call out to them, "Tama-chan! Haru-chan!"

The twins followed, "Boss!"

When they were finally close enough Lorena threw her arms around Haruhi, quickly checking for injuries, then hugging her in relief. Lorena took off her over coat and draped it over Haruhi's shoulders.

"It's not even cold out, Rena-chan…" Haruhi grumbled.

"Haruhi," Lorena raised an eyebrow at her, "you're wearing a white dress."

A shocked _Oh_ slipped from Haruhi's lips and she looked down at herself under the coat, quickly looking back up and blushing beet red. Lorena just laughed at her friend and threw her arm around her once more, leading her to the car.

* * *

At the end of the night, everyone had gathered in the main courtyard to dance under the stars. The orchestra played beautifully, the yellow blossomed trees swayed in the wind, dancing at their own pace, and the people flowed onto and off the dancefloor the way the ocean's tides move. In and out, in and out, change the partner, change the pace, change the dance, everything kept changing.

To start off, Lorena danced with some of her guests, the males more eager, the females a little shy, but easy to persuade. Lorena was dancing with Misa, the girl who had confessed to her not too long ago when Kyoya cut in. They danced for a couple minutes, a comfortable silence between them, merely enjoying each other's company.

Then Hikaru cut in, it was a little awkward to dance with him, broken arm and all, but Lorena made sure to be extra careful. They were making plans for another sleepover when Kaoru cut in, who obviously agreed to it.

Dancing with Kaoru was fun, he's always been a person who tries his best to make people feel at ease, lets them be themselves, and Lorena always liked that about him.

Lorena decided to change it up a bit and instead cut in on Haruhi's dance with Hikaru, with no small amount of awkwardness they decided that Lorena would lead the dance. They giggled and poked fun at each other, generally just making idle chit-chat and enjoying the peace.

A tug on Lorena's dress signaled her that it was now Honey's turn to cut in. Being so short, Lorena had to hold him as they "danced," allowing herself to spin in lazy circles and funny loops.

Then it was Tamaki who stopped her spinning, he looked nervous about it though, he hadn't really gotten the chance to talk to Lorena about everything that had happened yet, he was afraid that she was mad at him. She just shook her head at him and punched his shoulder lightly, "You're such an idiot," she laughed, his scared face soon turned into a happy one, "but I still love you, idiot or not." They danced for a couple minutes, mostly content with silence, though Lorena would occasionally hear him mutter something about, "His precious daughter loves him" and "A perfect family" and things like that.

Lastly, Takashi cut in, sending Tamaki towards Haruhi. He took Lorena's hand and danced slowly with her, not once did his eyes stray from her face. They danced for a few minutes, the world shrank and only existed in the space between them, the music faded, and the crowd disappeared, the only thing they cared about, was each other. Takashi broke the silence, "Have you thought more about us?"

"Yes." She nodded, a smile spread across her face, "I want to give it a try."

He too smiled and lowered his head just to be closer to her, in a lowered voice he asked, "May I kiss you?"

Lorena could feel the warmth in her heart overflowing, "Maybe this isn't the best place, your guests would be heartbroken." She teased, brushing her nose against his to torture him even further.

"And afterwards?"

Lorena giggled, "We'll see."

"You're a tease." He smirked.

"And you're a giant."

Their playful conversation ended when beautiful fireworks suddenly went off, lighting up the night sky in different hues.

It was a night they would all remember, and one that Lorena would treasure forever.

* * *

**A/N: I know I know, it's been ridiculously long since I've updated, but writer's block, school, work, family problems, and all that fun stuff just kept piling up and up. So, feel free to tell me what you think, please be brutally honest. All I can say is, "I tried."**

**IMPORTANT: This is not the end! There will be an epilogue!**


	38. Epilogue

**A/N: Here we are, the Epilogue, the final chapter of Secrets and Surprises. Excuse me while I go cry. But seriously, it's been an adventure, my writing skills have obviously improved a lot since the first chapter, and I don't plan to stop improving any time soon. Firstly, I have to thank everyone for staying with me long enough to get here, I know this fic is not the best, there are a lot of errors, but I am proud to have made it this far. Thank you, everyone who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed. I'm not sure what else I can say, so I'll just go right into replying to the reviews left on the last chapter.**

**BizzyLizy: Thank you so much! Feel free to tell me how you liked this one too ;)**

**Tessa: Oh my gosh thank you so much! That means a lot to me!**

**YuYuHakushoObsesser: *squeals from your review* Here it is! Thanks for sticking with me all this way, I know it couldn't have been easy, there were times I didn't update for a while hahaha...*sweats***

**casper6six6: Here it is! Thanks for sticking with me this whole way!**

* * *

"Oh! Where did I put that bouquet?"

Lorena's heart nearly stopped beating. "Elena?!"

"I got it!" Elena handed Lorena the bouquet of red roses with a sheepish smile, "Didn't mean to scare you."

"Well you did," Lorena stuck her tongue out at her older sister. She turned at looked at herself in the large mirror once again, smoothing her dress for the tenth time in five minutes, "I think I'm gonna pass out."

"Lorena, stop it, you look absolutely gorgeous." Haruhi chided her as she entered the room, closing the door behind her.

"Haruhi, you'll catch me if I pass out, right?"

"No, but I'll help you up once I'm done laughing."

"Haruhi!"

She laughed at her nervous friend as she did one last walk around to make sure everything was in order, "Lorena, you are one of the bravest people I know, you'll be fine, I promise." Haruhi stood in front of Lorena, making sure her hair and makeup were perfect, "And just in case you don't believe me Takashi is coming to talk to you."

Lorena gasped, "What?! No, it's bad luck!"

Haruhi shrugged, "Just talk to him through the door." She was clearly done with her friend's high-strung_ nerves and panicky_ behavior.

_Knock knock._

"Perfect timing!"

Lorena nearly leapt off the small platform area and rushed to the door. She stood as close as she could, her nose brushing the white paint, "Takashi?"

"Lorena." She smiled at the sound of his voice, "I'm really nervous."

Lorena laughed loudly, "Yeah, me too. But we can do it."

"Yeah." She could hear the smile in his voice.

"You know, the sooner you get out there, the sooner we can see each other again."

He chuckled, "Alright, I'm going." There was a pause, "I love you."

"Well I hope so by this point," she laughed, "but seriously, I love you too. I'll see you in a couple of minutes."

"Okay." She heard footsteps getting fainter and fainter as he walked to the chapel.

Lorena turned around and faced the two most important girls in her life, a smile still playing on her lips, "I'm okay now."

She pushed herself off the door and went to hug them, "Thank you so much, both of you."

Together they made their way to the chapel. Michael was waiting for them at the chapel doors, he would be the one to walk Lorena down the aisle. Haruhi went in first with Honey as the best man, then Elena went with Satoshi, Takashi's younger brother.

"If you cry, Lorena, I'm gonna cry even harder." Michael whispered to her, she laughed at him. He sighed, "You are not the same girl I met in the hospital all those years ago. You're all grown up now, next thing you know I'll be walking Emma down the aisle."

Lorena poked his ribs, "Old man."

The music changed, and they heard the shuffling of everyone standing up. The doors swung open and Lorena gulped at the expectant faces. But when she saw Takashi at the end of that aisle, nothing else mattered.

The rest of the night flew by for Lorena, and by two hours in her face was numb from smiling so much.

The actual wedding was fairly small, the only people invited were family and close friends. They had had a celebration for business partners and colleagues beforehand, a highly political and exhausting affair.

Emma was the flower girl, skipping down the aisle with her basket swinging in her hand, and Adam was the ring bearer, trailing behind Lorena and Michael.

Takashi was wearing a dark blue vest and tie under his black suit, a matching blue handkerchief tucked neatly into his breast pocket.

Lorena was wearing a strapless wedding dress that flared out at her hips, the soft material trailing behind her. Her blonde hair was woven into an updo that kept her hair off her neck and shoulders. Her angel wing necklace, as per usual, rested on her chest.

The only people in the crowd Lorena was worried about was her father. The only reason she had allowed him to be here was because Elena told her that she wouldn't come if he couldn't, and Lorena needed her sister to be here. So, she agreed, and now that she was an adult, she could tell Theresa to go fuck herself and not have any consequences for doing so. Needless to say, Theresa was not present.

After the wedding, Lorena was emotionally exhausted from all the laughing and crying and talking, but she wouldn't trade it for the world.

* * *

Lorena was rudely awoken by a ray of sunlight, groaning, she turned her head away from it. The arm around her waist pulled her closer, allowing her to bury her face in his chest.

She hummed and snuggled up to her husband. She kissed his collarbone, "Mornin', Takashi."

He kissed her forehead, then between her eyebrows, then on her nose, and finally on her lips.

Next thing they knew, footsteps came bounding down the hallway, the door burst open, and the voices of squealing children filled the room. The two kids jumped on their father, making sure not to jump on or hit their mother.

Takashi shot up and grabbed the two bouncing children, holding them prisoner against his chest. They squealed and kicked uselessly, and when he started tickling them they only squealed more.

After another minute of torture, he released them and set them back down on the ground. "Alright guys, help mommy up." Lorena held her arms out and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. The two children ran over and grabbed her hands, their meager strength not really doing much until Takashi made his way over and pulled her up onto her feet.

She kissed him again and felt the two children, twin boys, placing their ears against her swollen stomach. "Can you hear her?" Takashi asked amusedly.

"No..." They sounded disappointed, they had been looking forward to the arrival of their new sister for a while now, and with each passing day they got more and more excited.

"Well, you'll get to meet her soon enough. Now who wants pancakes?!" They cheered and ran off to the kitchen, ready to "assist" in making breakfast.

Takashi chuckled at them and bent down to kiss his unborn child, "They aren't the only ones who are excited."

"Come on," she tugged him along behind her, "we have two starving children in the kitchen."

* * *

"Mommy, can we go to the pet store with daddy and get a fish?"

"Sure, baby. Be safe." Lorena didn't even have to look up from her paper work to know her three children were running back to their father with huge smiles on their faces.

An hour later the car pulled up to the front of the house, a fully-grown Percival running to the door to greet them.

Lorena too got up to greet them, she waited inside the open door to see her three kids and Takashi carrying a covered cage emerge from the car.

"That doesn't look like a fish..." Lorena knelt down to be face-to-face with her daughter.

"H-he looked so sad, mommy! We had to get him!"

Lorena hummed as she stood to face her husband who was smiling rather sheepishly at her. He kissed her quickly before uncovering the cage, revealing a gray fuzzy bunny rabbit. "Awww," she cooed at the small animal, "he is pretty cute..." The three kids cheered, they knew that they had won her over. "What's his name?"

"Fish." Takashi smirked at her.

_Click click click._ The sound of claws on wood floors sounded from behind them. Lorena turned and smiled, "Creature! There's my beautiful boy!"

He slowly but surely made his way to her, and with some difficultly, sat at her feet. She knelt once again and showered his head with kisses and pets. His white dappled snout twitched as he caught the scent of the new animal.

Takashi set the cage on the ground and unlatched the gate. At first, the bunny did not leave the cage for fear of the dog before him, but once he sensed no threat from the old beast, he hopped out and sniffed around his new home.

* * *

Lorena was working at her desk when Creature stood from his spot next to her and nudged her leg with a paw. She pat his head and went back to work. He whined and nudged her again, more insistent this time.

She stopped and faced him, "Can't fall asleep, bud?" He looked up at her with pitiful eyes. He'd been trying to get to sleep for a couple hours now, but his arthritis wouldn't let him. "Alright, let me change."

She went and changed into a tank top and shorts, returned to her office where he was still waiting, carefully picked him up, and took him into the backyard where their large swimming pool was waiting.

First she stood in the shallower part, allowing him to get adjusted to the water temperature, then moved to the deeper end. In her arms, she kept his head and shoulders above water and let the cool water to soothe his aching bones and joints.

For a half an hour she stood there, stroking his fur, lulling him to sleep. Only when his eyes closed and soft snores escaped him did she allow herself to weep.

"Lorena." Takashi, standing at the edge of the pool called, his eyes brimming with sadness for her.

She sobbed, squeezing Creature to her chest, but not too hard. "My oldest friend. My beautiful boy." He was an old dog. In pain.

She lifted her head when she heard Takashi lowering himself into the water. He approached her and drew her into his arms, "He's all I have left of her." She sobbed into his shoulder. Takashi let her cry, not saying anything, only rubbing comforting circles on her back.

Minutes passed like this, but when she was done, and the tears had all been shed, she sobered up. "I have to let her go. Let him go." Hiccups occasionally sputtered out of her throat, but she managed to choke down most of them.

"Yeah." He kissed her head, "You're not alone, Lorena." He tilted her head up, making her look him in the eyes, "You're not alone."

* * *

"Mom... I'm bisexual."

Lorena blinked at her son before her, his hands wringing his sleeves nervously, head bowed to the ground in fear, "I see." He took a shaky breath, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, "You know your sexual orientation doesn't affect my love for you, right?"

He looked up at her, half shocked and half hopeful, "What?"

Lorena laughed, "Didn't you know? Your uncle Michael is bisexual too."

"O-oh." He blushed, "I thought he and Uncle Nate were both gay."

Lorena laughed again and hugged her son, she wiped the tears from his eyes and brushed his dark hair away from his face. "I speak for both myself and your father when I say, we love you, no matter what. I'm happy you could trust me enough to tell me."

He smiled and hugged her again, "Thanks, mom."

Lorena pulled back after a moment, "Since we're on the subject, what other orientations are there?"

"You don't know?"

"Well," Lorena shrugged sheepishly, "I've always wanted to know, but was always too afraid I'd offend someone to ask."

Her son laughed and happily began explaining to her the orientations that he knew the most on and referring her to credible sources.

Later that night, Lorena lay next to her husband, unable to sleep. She rolled over and poked him in the shoulder. "Takashi." A grunt replied, then he rolled over to face her, rubbing his eyes. "Did you talk to our son today?" He nodded. "Did he tell you he was..."

"Bisexual?"

She smiled, "Yeah." She paused for a moment, considering her next words, "He told me about some other sexual orientations and I came to realize... I think I'm pansexual."

Takashi blinked, "Okay."

She shoved him lightly, "Seriously, Takashi!"

He grabbed her hand and held it gently in his own, "Seriously, it doesn't change anything." He kissed her fingers, "You're still my Lorena. You're still my beautiful wife." He tapped her wedding ring for emphasis, pulling her closer as he did so.

Lorena rolled her eyes at her husband's tired words, she pecked his lips, "You're right. I don't know why I was so worried about your reaction."

"I love you."

She blushed, "I love you too. You can go back to sleep now."

He shook his head, "I don't want to miss a second with you."

Lorena giggled and shoved him again, "Shut up and go to sleep, you big doof."

He managed to snag another kiss before she settled down, tucking her head under his chin and tangling their legs together.

In each other's arms, they fell asleep once again, happy and contented.

* * *

**A/N: What can I say? I'm a sucker for happy endings. As I said before, this is the last chapter. I will miss Lorena...**

**I will still write other fanfictions, though. I know for sure right now that I will write for Teen Wolf, Stargate: Atlantis, BBC's Merlin, and Marvel's Avengers. They will be posted on here, if any of you guys would be interested in reading those :) I more than likely will not be writing another anime fic, though.**

**Best of wishes to you all! **

** secrets_surprises_epilogue/set?id=187614487**


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